Healthy Prostate Diet

Recommended Diet

Dietary guidelines for prostate health and function include:

• Eat fresh and organic foods whenever possible
• Enjoy grapefruit as a breakfast juice, add segments to salads, have a half grapefruit as a first course
• Eat legumes regularly, especially organic soyfoods (tofu, tempeh, edamame, etc)
• Eat fresh vegetables every day, especially mustard family vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc.) Men eating 4 servings of vegetables daily have almost half the risk for prostate cancer as men eating less than 2 servings of vegetables daily
• Limit your intakes of animal foods, especially animal fat, dairy foods, and red meat
• Stick with low-to-moderate intake of cold-water fish like salmon
• Enjoy avocados frequently
• Eat tomato products frequently (excellent source of lycopene)
• Eat whole-grain rice, pasta, cereals, breads, and crackers; suggestion: have whole-grains (like rice, quinoa, or pasta) with tomato sauce, olive oil, garlic, onions, spices, and organic tofu (or other soyfood) a few times weekly
• Eat nuts and seeds regularly, especially ground flaxseed’for essential fats, selenium, zinc, vitamin E, and dietary fiber
• Enjoy fresh or dried fruit for dessert, especially whole cranberries
• If you eat meat, focus on fish and organic game and poultry rather than red meats
• Use spices every day, especially rosemary, ginger, garlic, turmeric, basil, sage, thyme, oregano, curry spice (spices like these support hormone metabolism and excretion), and red chili pepper (lowers PSA)
• Drink green tea
• Enjoy a glass or two of red wine each dayA Heart Healthy Diet May Be Good for the Prostate

The type of diet normally prescribed for cardiovascular health’high in vegetables and lean protein, low in fat and red meat’along with moderate alcohol consumption (no more than 2 drinks a day) significantly decreases the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. (Kristal AR, Arnold KB, et al. Am J Epidemiol.) BPH is associated with frequent and painful urination and affects about half of all men by age 50 and almost all men by age 70.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle analyzed data on 4,770 subjects in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, a large randomized clinical trial to determine whether finasteride, a drug used to treat BPH, would also prevent prostate cancer. The men involved in this analysis, all 55 and older, participated in the placebo arm of the finasteride trial. All were free of BPH symptoms at the start of the study and received annual screening for signs of prostate enlargement.

The results showed:

A high-fat diet increased the risk of BPH by 31%
Daily consumption of red meat increased BPH risk by 38%
Eating four or more servings of vegetables daily reduced BPH risk by 32%
Consuming high amounts of lean protein (about 20% of daily calorie intake) lowered BPH risk by 15%
Regular, moderate alcohol consumption (no more than two drinks a day) reduced BPH risk by 38%.