Prostate cancer is the most frequent form of cancer in men. If a woman finds a breast lump immediately thinks about breast cancer, a man who begins to urinate more often at night and whose doctor tells him he has prostate cancer fears the cancer of these glands.



Unfortunately the causes of prostate cancer are not known exactly, but there have been identified several risk factors, like factors that increase the chance of developing this disease. Fortunately, quite a lot of these risk factors, such as for instance what we eat, can help us. Which means that is in our power to prevent prostate cancer!

Risk Factors - Age: Risk of prostate cancer increases with age, especially after 50 years. This disease in the family: Men who have close relatives who suffered from prostate cancer have a higher risk of developing this disease and they do. For example, if your father had prostate cancer, your risk is 2-3 times higher. If your brother had prostate cancer, your risk may be up to 5 times higher. And if your family had both prostate cancer and ovarian cancer or breast cancer, your risk of prostate cancer can be 6 times higher!

Diet: Some food factors seem to increase the risk of prostate cancer- for example a diet rich in red meat, fats and dairy products. On the contrary, other foods seem to have a protective effect.

Prostate cancer diet - Specialists from the American Institute for Cancer Research estimate that over 30% of all cancers are related to diet. World Health Organization, in a report published in the late 80's called Diet, nutrition and chronic disease prevention goes further and says that between 35 and 60% of all forms of cancer (and there are over 100) are related to mistakes in eating.

The link between cancer and nutrition is double, meaning that some foods and food habits increase cancer risk and others decrease it. And prostate cancer is no exception. Recent studies have revealed a close link between what we eat and this form of cancer. Here is a list of what you should include in your prostate cancer diet:

Fruits and herbs: There are many arguments in support of the protective effect against cancer of fruit and vegetables. A recent study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the U.S. showed that an increased consumption of vegetables can cause a considerable decrease in the risk of prostate cancer. Thus, men who consumed an average of 4 or more types of vegetables a day had a risk of prostate cancer by 35% lower compared with those who consumed less than 2 types daily.

Tomatoes and tomato juice: Several studies have identified lycopene (found in large quantities in tomatoes and tomato juice as having a strong protective effect).

Vitamin E: A Finnish study conducted on a group of 29,000 smokers who took a daily supplement of 50 IU of vitamin E showed a decrease of 41% of deaths from prostate cancer.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D seems to have anti-tumor effects against prostate cancer.
Selenium: Selenium is a mineral with antioxidant properties for the body. The data showed that healthy patients, men who ate the most selenium had a 51% lower risk of prostate cancer compared with those who had the lowest intake of this mineral. The same effect was emphasized by an experimental trial in which a group of 1312 people given 200 mcg of selenium daily for 4.5 years.