As you may or may not know diet and prostate cancer is a highly debatable item.  There is probably more evidence that it could be a preventative if used as a standard part of your diet for most of your life.  There is little evidence that diet alone will make much difference in the death rate of prostate cancer patients.  There is some evidence that some diets and/or supplements may slow the doubling time but it does not necessarily mean a longer life.

A healthy diet may well make you a healthy person and as a healthier person you will live a better and probably longer life.  But what is this healthy diet.  What follows is some discussion of this healthy diet.

Let us start with the below comment:

"It's too early to say that diet and exercise can prevent prostate cancer from developing or progressing, but our study strongly suggests that a low-fat diet and exercise regimen appears to favorably affect the levels of hormones or growth factors that influence prostate cancer growth," said Aronson, who also is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Urology at the UCLA School of Medicine. "Based on the results of our study, we have begun a new clinical trial at UCLA to evaluate new nutritional programs that men with prostate cancer may hopefully use in the future to prevent the progression of their disease."

Let me note that nothing in prostate cancer seems to get out of date faster than studies on this Topic.  What you read today may be changed tomorrow.  The result is that one should read the latest material before making any decisions.

FROM WebMD at: http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/is-there-prostate-cancer-diet

Is There a Prostate Cancer Diet?

WebMD expert and urologist Sheldon Marks, MD, shares his thought on how men can help prevent prostate cancer through nutrition.

WebMD Commentary              Reviewed by Paul O'Neill, MD

When you're being treated for cancer, it's more important than ever to eat right and get adequate nutrition -- but it can also be more difficult than ever to adhere to a balanced cancer diet. Your body is working overtime to fight the cancer, while it's also doing extra duty to repair healthy cells that may have been damaged as a side effect of treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. At the same time, many cancer treatments -- especially chemotherapy -- come with side effects that drain your strength and sap your appetite. So how can you make sure you're getting all the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you need to keep a balanced cancer diet?

1.  Participate in regular exercise. Walking is best.

2.  Limit your calorie intake. Excess calories are bad for cancer growth. Eat what you need to get to the next meal, not the usual American style of eating all you can as if you are never going to eat again.

3.  Get sunshine daily. Darker-skinned people need more sunshine.

4.  Don't follow these or any guidelines to excess. Moderation is the key.

5.  Heart healthy is prostate healthy. Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer, even in men with prostate cancer.

6.  Variety in the foods you eat is important. Increase the diversity.

7.  Remember supplements are supplements. They are not intended to replace an intelligent diet; their purpose is to supplement an intelligent diet. Supplements are a poor alternative to eating foods that are high in the desired nutrients.

8.  See a doctor regularly for early detection and preventative care. Be proactive rather than reactive.

Nutritional Recommendations

The two diets known to be associated with longevity and reduced risks for prostate cancer are the traditional Japanese diet and a Southern Mediterranean diet. The Japanese diet is high in green tea, soy, vegetables, and fish, as well as low in calories and fat. The Mediterranean diet is high is fresh fruits and vegetables, garlic, tomatoes, red wine, olive oil, and fish. Both are low in red meat.

Specifically, you should incorporate these principles when reevaluating your daily diet:

1.  Reduce animal fat in your diet. Studies show that excess fat, primarily red meat and high-fat dairy, stimulates prostate cancer to grow.

2.  Avoid trans fatty acids, which are known to promote cancer growth. These are high in margarines, and fried and baked foods.

3.  Increase your fresh fish intake, which is high in the very beneficial alpha omega-3 fatty acids. Ideally eat cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and trout, at least two to three times a week. The fish should be poached, baked, or grilled (not burned or charred). Avoid fried fish.

4.  Significantly increase your fresh fruit, herb, and vegetable consumption daily. Powerful anticancer nutrients are being discovered regularly in colorful fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs, leafy green vegetables, nuts, berries, and seeds.

5.  Avoid high-calcium diets, which have been shown to stimulate prostate cancer growth.

6.  Take a multivitamin with B complex and folic acid daily.

7.  Avoid high-dose zinc supplements.

8.  Increase your natural vitamin C consumption -- this includes citrus, berries, spinach, cantaloupe, sweet peppers, and mango.

9.  Drink green tea several times each week.

10.  Avoid excess preserved, pickled, or salted foods.

11.  Eat red grapes, drink red grape juice, or red wine regularly.

12.  Eat leafy dark-green vegetables frequently.

13.  Cruciferous vegetables are cancer protective. These include cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.

14.  Tomatoes and especially tomato products are very high in lycopene, a powerful anticancer substance. This includes pizza sauce, tomato paste, and ketchup.

15.  Avoid flax seed oil. This can stimulate prostate cancer to grow. You can obtain the very healthy alpha omega-3 fatty acids you need through fresh fish and nuts.

16.  Use olive oil, which is very healthy and rich in vitamin E and antioxidants. Avocado oil is also good. Avoid oils high in polyunsaturated fats such as corn, canola, or soybean.

17.  Take vitamin E, 50 to 100 IU of gamma and d-alpha, only with the approval of your doctor. Some recent studies have raised concerns over serious risks with vitamin E intake. Natural sources include nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado oil, wheat germ, peas, and nonfat milk.

18.  Selenium is a very powerful antioxidant and the backbone molecule of your body's immune system. Most studies support a daily selenium supplement of 200 micrograms a day. The benefits appear to be only for those who have low selenium levels, which is difficult and expensive to measure. Since it only costs about 7 cents a day and is not toxic at these levels, it is reasonable for all men to take selenium. Natural sources include Brazil nuts, fresh fish, grains, mushrooms, wheat germ, bran, whole-wheat bread, oats, and brown rice.

From Patient Health International at: http://www.patienthealthinternational.com/features/3520.aspx

22 October 2004 2004-10-22T00:00:00.0000000+02:00

Diet and Prostate Cancer 

However, there is little proof of the relative benefits and risks of eating different amounts of specific foods, and no single factor is known to either cause or prevent the disease. More information on diet and prostate cancer will be provided by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a major study that has been monitoring more than 130,000 men since 1993. In the meantime, it makes sense to follow basic healthy eating guidelines; some simple advice is listed below. 

Dietary advice that may reduce cancer risk

Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables (at least 5 portions a day)

Eat plenty of cereal foods, ideally unprocessed

Maintain ideal body weight (body mass index 20–25 kg/m2)

Limit fatty foods

Eat red meat and processed meat in moderation

Avoid high doses of vitamin supplements

Consume alcohol in moderation

Avoid highly salted, burnt, and mouldy foods

Background

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in Western countries yet no one knows precisely what causes it. From studying the characteristics of men with prostate cancer, researchers have pinpointed a number of factors that may increase a man’s likelihood of developing the disease, one of which is diet. While not as significant a risk factor as age (half of all cases of prostate cancers are diagnosed in men aged 75 years and older), there is evidence that certain foods may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, while other foods may protect against the disease. There is also growing interest in using diet to treat prostate cancer, with preliminary research suggesting that specific foods may help slow the growth and spread of tumours. The links between various dietary factors and prostate cancer are discussed below.

Fat

Several lines of evidence suggest that eating a high-fat diet raises the risk of prostate cancer. Research indicates that a country’s prostate cancer mortality rate is related to the average total calories consumed by the population. In addition, many studies have identified dietary fat intake as a common distinguishing factor between men with and without prostate cancer. Fat of animal origin appears to carry the highest risk, although polyunsaturated vegetable fats have also been linked to prostate cancer.

A large US study found that individuals who ate a lot of animal fat, particularly from red meat, were at increased risk of developing advanced prostate cancer (where the cancer has spread to other areas of the body). Yet another study found that men with prostate cancer who ate a low-fat diet had tumours that grew and spread more slowly than comparable men who ate a high-fat diet. ”As more and more men are diagnosed with early-stage disease, it becomes increasingly important to consider how dietary or lifestyle changes could decrease their risk of cancer recurrence,“ commented Dr. Alan Kristal, who led the research.

Although the evidence is not entirely consistent, there are some plausible biological explanations for a link between dietary fat and prostate cancer. For instance, dietary fat may increase levels of hormones called androgens, which are known to promote the development of prostate cancer. Alternatively, certain types of fatty acids may initiate or encourage prostate tumour growth, although the evidence for this is conflicting. An interesting observation in animals is that the male offspring of rats who ate a high-fat diet while pregnant are more likely to develop prostate cancer than rats whose mothers ate a low-fat diet.

Calcium

Some experts believe that a high calcium intake can increase the risk of prostate cancer. For instance, a study conducted in Seattle found that men who consumed more than around 1200 mg/day of calcium were twice as likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer as those who took less than 500 mg/day. In addition, the Harvard-based Physician's Health Study indicated that higher levels of calcium may increase the risk of prostate cancer, but only by 20–30%. Other researchers have concluded that moderate levels of calcium intake appear to have little or no impact on cancer risk. The issue is further complicated because vitamin D, which is often found in the same foods as calcium, helps to lower the risk of prostate cancer. Some scientists believe that high calcium intake suppresses vitamin D levels, thereby losing the protection afforded by this vitamin.

Vitamin E and selenium

In 1998 a major study conducted in Finland found that male smokers who took vitamin E supplements were markedly less likely to develop prostate cancer or die from the disease than men who did not take the supplements. A separate trial, conducted in 1996, found that men who took supplements of a substance called selenium were protected against developing prostate cancer. Both vitamin E and selenium are antioxidants, a type of molecule that is thought to control cell damage that can lead to cancer.

To substantiate the findings from these two earlier trials, a major study called SELECT is now underway. It aims to recruit more than 32,000 healthy middle-aged men who will be randomly assigned to take supplements of selenium, vitamin E, selenium plus vitamin E, or an inactive placebo. Neither the men nor the researchers will know who is taking what supplement, and the trial will continue until around 2013. At this point the researchers will ”unblind“ the results and compare rates of prostate cancer among the groups to determine whether either, or both, of the supplements has a beneficial effect.

Soy

Interest in soy, a bean-derived protein, was triggered by the observation that prostate cancer is rare in Asian men, whose diets are rich in soy, but common in Americans, who eat few soy-based foods. Interestingly, studies of immigrants from Japan show that native Japanese men have the lowest risk of prostate cancer, first-generation Japanese-Americans have an intermediate risk, while subsequent generations have a risk comparable to the US population. This supports the hypothesis that an outside influence, such as diet, can modulate cancer risk.

Furthermore, there are biological reasons why soy might protect against prostate cancer, since it contains hormone-like substances, called isoflavones. Research suggests that men with early-stage prostate cancer can prevent their disease from becoming worse by taking a soy isoflavone supplement every day. In this study the beneficial effect was noticed after just 12 weeks, raising the possibility that soy might be useful for preventing or slowing the development of prostate cancer.

Tomatoes

Like soybeans, tomatoes contain a vast array of compounds with potential health benefits. One of these so-called phytochemicals is lycopene, an antioxidant that may help prevent cell damage and thus protect against cancer. Studies show that men who consistently eat at least five servings of tomatoes or tomato products each week are less likely to develop prostate cancer than men who eat smaller amounts. In addition, higher levels of lycopene in the blood have been linked with a lower risk of prostate cancer. Although lycopene can be taken as a dietary supplement, some believe that the best protection against prostate cancer comes when lycopene is combined with other phytochemicals found in tomatoes.

Fibre

There is growing evidence that high-fibre diets – particularly those high in soluble fibre such as oat bran and legumes – may protect against prostate cancer. A study by Canadian researchers found that men who ate a diet rich in soluble fibre for four months had lower levels of prostate-specific antigen – a substance that indicates prostate cancer risk – than men who ate lots of insoluble fibre. The reasons for this effect are not entirely clear, however, and it is not known whether following a high-fibre diet would help prevent prostate cancer.

Conclusion

There is evidence to suggest that a more healthy diet can play an important role in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Epidemiological evidence suggests that isoflavones, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants could all be beneficial in reducing the incidence of the disease. The results of ongoing studies should provide more conclusive evidence on the effect of diet on prostate cancer.

Further information:

SELECT

http://www.cancer.gov/select

EPIC

http://www.iarc.fr/EPIC/

American Cancer Society

http://www.cancer.org

American Urological Association

http://www.auanet.org/

Cancer Research UK

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org

CancerBACUP

http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/

National Comprehensive Cancer Network

http://www.nccn.org/

National Cancer Institute

http://www.nci.nih.gov/

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Clark LC, Dalkin B, Krongrad A, et al. Decreased incidence of prostate cancer with selenium supplementation: results of a double-blind cancer prevention trial. Br J Urol 1998; 81: 730–734.

Cummings JH, Bingham SA. Diet and the prevention of cancer. BMJ 1998; 317: 1636–1640.

Giovannucci E, Rimm EB, Colditz GA, et al. A prospective study of dietary fat and risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 1993; 85: 1571–1579.

Heinonen OP, Albanes D, Virtamo J, et al. Prostate cancer and supplementation with alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene: incidence and mortality in a controlled trial. J Natl Cancer Inst 1998; 90: 440–406.

Henderson BE, Bernstein L, Ross RK, et al. The early in utero oestrogen and testosterone environment of blacks and whites: potential effects on male offspring. Br J Cancer 1988; 57: 216–218.

Klein EA, Thompson IM, Lippman SM, et al. SELECT: the next prostate cancer prevention trial. Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial. J Urol 2001; 166: 1311–1315.

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Bill Nelson:

a pioneer in the study of diet as preventive medicine, is looking for foods or nutrients that boost disease-fighting enzimes, and help the body ward of prostate cancer.

Imagine you are watching an old movie Western, and here comes the hero: You know him instantly -- he's clean-cut, wit broad shoulders and a white hat, riding tall in the saddle on a fine white horse. But then the unthinkable happens: His big fight scene with the villain is over almost before it starts.

The paragraphs above are from an excellent article on diet from the Johns Hopkins "Prostate Cancer Update".  You can go to this long article by clicking on Prostate Cancer Update

Preventing prostate cancer and diet

Excerpted from Prostate Disease: Finding the Cause and Cure, a Harvard Health Publications Special Health report (2003)

Preventing prostate cancer

The cause of prostate cancer is unknown, which means it’s hard to suggest preventive strategies. Researchers have not found a powerful association with lifestyle, although there is some evidence that diet may play a role.

Diet

The science of food and cancer prevention is a moving target that, so far, hasn’t produced clear-cut advice for prostate cancer prevention. But some interesting trends are emerging.

Here is Harvard expressing their opinion about prostate cancer and diet.  The short article can be found by clicking here.