Healthy Prostate Cancer foods
“When I found out I had prostate cancer, I was scared. But I had a lot of faith in my doctor. I decided to work on myself instead of being sad about it. With my family and doctor’s help, healthy diet and exercising, I’m still going strong after 16 years! I got my cancer back a second time, but I came out of it stronger but with urine leakage issues. I had seen Friends Azadi Mubarak ad. I decided to give it a try. Happy to say that my life is back to normal.”
Adam D'Souza was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2006. He wrote to us on the eve of new year, expressing his gratitude, because he could take his family out to dinner by wearing Friends Classic Dry Pants.
Your diet plays a far major role in your health than you think, including that of your prostate. By adding healthy, prostate-friendly food to your diet, you can largely reduce the risk of prostate cancer or, like Adam, prevent the prostate cancer from growing further.
Foods to Eat When Contemplating Prostate Health
You can start working on your health by adding the following foods for prostate health:
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are not your regular juicy salad decorating vegetable, in fact, it’s not even a vegetable! It’s a fruit. Tomatoes – and certain fruits and vegetables – contain a powerful antioxidant called lycopene. Studies have proven that a diet high in lycopene is associated with a reduced risk of developing prostate cancer.
As lycopene is an antioxidant, it protects the cells from damage and slows down or prevents the production of cancer cells. But your body has trouble getting its hands on lycopene because they are tightly bound to the cells of raw tomatoes, so cook them!
Have some cooked tomato chutney next time you have dosa. You will also find lycopene in tomato sauce, tomato ketchup and tomato juice too, that is if it is homemade.
Turmeric
Turmeric can be credited for many health benefits that includes its anti-inflammatory properties. Foods with anti-inflammatory properties are believed to play a major role in suppressing the development of prostate cancer, or just cancer in general.
However, recent experiments suggest that turmeric may interfere with chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. But delaying or avoiding treatment because of turmeric is not an answer.
Dubbed as Indian kitchen’s wonder spice, you won’t have trouble finding turmeric in your diet. If you think it might not be sufficient simply have haldi-doodh.
Broccoli
Broccoli has many complex compounds that can prevent cancer. Studies show that there’s a link between cruciferous vegetables (the vegetable family to which broccoli belongs) and a lower risk of prostate cancer.
But an interesting thing is, researchers are still unsure about what’s the reason behind this link. Researchers believe that broccoli has sulforaphane and other anti-cancer compounds that selectively target and kill cancer cells.
Other cruciferous vegetables include kale, cabbage and cauliflower. You can easily include them in your salads and soups, or you can simply eat them raw.
Green Tea
Praised to be one of the healthiest beverages in the world and mostly likely No. 1 in the lists of foods good for prostate health is green tea!
It improves brain function, increases fat burning, prevents diabetes and heart diseases, and much more. Multiple studies have shown that green tea enthusiasts are at a lower risk of developing prostate cancer. And owing to its many other health benefits, we recommend making green tea your go-to tea from now on.
Legumes
Legumes are a good source of antioxidants, fiber, and plant-based protein, which may help lower inflammation and improve immune function. They are also high in phytochemicals that give a protective effect against cancer.
Beans, peanuts, lentils and chicken peas are all legumes. To include legumes in your diet, try swapping out meat for plant protein.
Fish
Polyunsaturated fats and fatty acids like omega-3s and omega-6s are found exclusively in fishes. Moreover, these essential fats are not naturally produced by the body. Several studies have reported that there may be a connection between higher omega-3 fat consumption and lower risk of prostate cancer.
Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate juice has a reputation as a super fruit juice due to its richness of antioxidants.
Animal and test tube studies have shown that pomegranate juice prevents the production of some prostate cancer cells. You can buy pomegranate juice at most fruit juice centers, or better yet, just eat it raw at home. .
All items in this list are packed full of nutrition and eating these foods as part of your regular diet can not only keep your prostate healthy, but your entire body at its best! However, it's a good idea to talk with your doctor before making any dietary changes. Especially, if you're under medications or treatment for prostate cancer because certain foods may get in the way of different medications and treatments. Let us know your doubts in the comments section below. See you in the next blog!
FAQs Related to Healthy Prostate Cancer Foods
1. What foods should be avoided with prostate cancer?
Great question, here’s a list of foods that should be avoided like the plague in a diet for prostate health:
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Red and processed meat like beef, pork
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Full fat dairy products
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Alcohol
You can read our blog to know more about what foods to avoid for enlarged prostate.
2. How can I slow down prostate cancer growth?
By following a healthy diet and lifestyle, make sure to include the above mentioned foods in your diet! Avoid the foods mentioned in the first question of these FAQs.
3. What foods increase risk of prostate cancer?
It’s same as the foods mentioned in the first question: red and processed meats, full fat dairy products and alcohol can increase your risk of prostate cancer.
4. What is the best fruit for prostate health?
Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and pomegranate are some foods that are great for your prostate.
5. Can prostate cancer be reversed by diet?
Unfortunately, prostate cancer can’t be reversed naturally, it can only be prevented from progressing further. But, there are many treatments and therapies that can destroy cancer cells, talk with your doctor and he can help you further.
6. Does sugar affect prostate cancer?
Increasing evidences have confirmed that there is a direct link between high sugar intake and prostate cancer.
