Men over 50 who want to continue to enjoy sexual satisfaction should do everything they can to protect their prostate against cancer.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cancer in men behind skin cancer. If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, you will likely be advised to go under chemotherapy, radiation, or some other invasive surgery.
To prevent this and remain healthy here are some foods you can avoid to lower your risk.
Meat is the first offender, specifically red meat. Red meat when cooked to a brown or black state forms HCAs (heterocyclic amines) which are carcinogens. In lab studies with rats, the rats exposed to high forms of HCAs had higher rates of prostate cancers. Tests also tracked total meat consumption, which not induce tumors. So to avoid HCA’s, stick to more lean meats like chicken or turkey, avoid processed meats, and consider cooking your red meat at medium-rare versus well done.
Dairy is another offender. Harvard researcher Ganmaa Davaasambuu studied prostate cancer in the Japanese after seeing a significant uptick in the prevalence of the cancer. After studying 36 years of data, Davaasambuu found that the increase correlated most directly with the introduction of dairy into the population after WWII.
Beer has also proven to track closely with the development of prostate cancer. Healthline reported that in a 7-year study involving 10,000 men, the 21% of men in the study who developed prostate cancer had a pattern of drinking more than four drinks a day or twenty drinks over the week. During this study, most of the participants drank beer over wine, so it would be hard to say if all alcohol should be avoided. However, the study did acknowledge that moderate drinkers, in general, had less risk for prostate cancer. It might be time to switch to wine or tone the drinking down, period.
Lastly, nature knows best in regard to saturated fats. Foods like margarine, salad dressings, shortening, and oils used for deep-frying food all have high amounts of polyunsaturated fats and should be avoided. A study conducted by MC Anderson Cancer Center out of Houston, TX determined participants who continued to indulge in these foods after being treated for prostate cancer relapsed at a higher rate than those who changed to a more natural approach.
A more natural approach looks like eating fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, and olive oils. After all, your brain is made of fat and needs it for processing. But it probably can’t handle the overload that an American diet provides.
As prostate cancer is the second-leading cancer in men, there is much research dedicated to the foods that will give you a better quality of life. If considering a change in diet, remember to consult a physician to ensure your body can tolerate it.
