Although prostate cancer is now considered easily treatable with a high survival rate, you should still try to avoid getting prostate cancer, if only to protect your sexual and reproductive health. Your prostate gland is an important sex accessory gland, so if there are any health issues with your prostate, your reproductive health will also suffer.
In addition, if you do develop prostate cancer, you could end up with erectile dysfunction because of prostate cancer treatments. To help you ward off prostate cancer, here are 4 dietary changes you can make.
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Increase Servings of Fruits and Vegetables
You’ll get a lot of antioxidants like polyphenols and flavonols from fruits and vegetables. These antioxidants can help protect you against inflammation and cancer. In addition, fruits and vegetables are also excellent natural sources of various vitamins and minerals.
Plus, you can get a lot of fiber from fruits and vegetables. Hence, increasing your intake of these nutritious foods can greatly reduce your chances of developing various types of cancer, including cancer of the prostate gland.
There are many cancer-killing fruits and vegetables that you can incorporate in your diet. For instance, lycopene-rich tomatoes have been shown to help men with prostate cancer. Turmeric, which contains curcumin, can help you fight various types of cancer. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli contain sulforaphane which can help kill cancer cells.
Mushrooms and pomegranates can also help men with prostate cancer. Mushrooms are rich in beta-glucans which can help inhibit the growth of malignant tumors. Pomegranate juice, on the one hand, can help in increasing your PSA doubling time. This means that when you drink pomegranate juice regularly, it can prevent your PSA levels from increasing rapidly.
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Eat Only Healthy Fats
If you get diagnosed with prostate cancer while the disease is still in the early stages, your chances of getting rid of the disease successfully are much higher. Once the disease starts, however, there are certain factors that can help the disease spread at a faster rate than usual. For instance, following a high-fat diet can make the disease progress more rapidly.
High-fat diets are the norm in Western countries like the United States. And for those who eat fast food several times a week, prostate cancer has been shown to spread more quickly. On the other hand, prostate cancer spreads more slowly in patients who follow a diet that’s rich in whole grains, veggies, and fruits.
Instead of eating foods that are rich in saturated fats like baked goods and processed foods, you should increase your intake of foods that contain healthy fats such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Fatty fish like salmon, nuts, and avocado are excellent dietary sources of healthy fats.
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Replace Animal Protein With Plant Protein
Red meat is one of the culprits implicated in prostate cancer development. Since you can’t forgo protein because you need it to maintain a well-balanced diet, you should try switching to plant-based proteins instead.
The proteins that you get from plants can give you more nutrients and health benefits than what you get from animal protein. For instance, you won’t be able to get dietary fiber from a chunk of meat. But a cup of leafy greens or legumes can give you not only the protein that you need but also dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Legumes like lentil, chickpeas, and green peas are some of the best plant sources of proteins. You can also get proteins from chia seeds, quinoa, and spirulina. Broccoli, fava, soy milk, and hemp seeds are also rich in protein.
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Drink Green Tea Instead of Soda
Previous studies have shown that regularly drinking soda and other sweetened beverages can increase your risks of prostate cancer by as much as 40%. On the other hand, green tea offers so many health benefits including prostate cancer protection.
Although it may take a lot of adjustment on your part, switching from sugary drinks to green tea can benefit your overall health aside from helping you fight prostate cancer. Green tea is extremely rich in catechin antioxidants which have been proven to slow the growth of cancerous tumors and even promote cancer cell death.
Green tea actually contains various types of antioxidants. However, most of the health benefits of green tea are attributed to the actions of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an extremely potent antioxidant that has been shown to benefit men with prostate problems.
The benefits of green tea on prostate health are not limited to just preventing or slowing the growth and spread of prostate cancer. Green tea has also been shown to help men with an enlarged prostate. Green tea can also help you if you have urinary tract infections and prostatitis or prostate gland inflammation.
Prostate Cancer Treatment and Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is one of the most common adverse effects of various forms of prostate cancer treatments. For instance, radiation therapy can cause damage to the nerves and blood vessels surrounding your prostate gland.
The nerves and blood vessels that help control your erection are actually extremely delicate. When you undergo radiation therapy to treat prostate cancer, these nerves and blood vessels can easily get damaged, thereby resulting in the loss of your erectile function.
Another form of prostate cancer treatment, prostatectomy is performed to surgically remove the prostate gland and the seminal vesicles in order to prevent the malignancy from spreading to other parts of your body. No matter how skillful your surgeon is in performing a prostatectomy, nerve-sparing prostatectomy can still lead to damaged nerves.
Managing Erectile Dysfunction
If prior to your prostate cancer treatment, you used to be able to have erections without any problems, then the chances are high that you may still be able to recover your erectile ability. However, it may take some time before your erectile function is restored.
If you want to restore your erectile function quickly, you should try taking an all-natural male sex enhancement supplement. Known as safe and effective, it is formulated using several herbs that all have pro-sexual effects.
It contains horny goat weed and Tribulus terrestris which are both widely popular in traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy for various male sexual health issues. In addition, maca and Tongkat Ali are also included in the formulation.
