How to Lower Prostate Cancer Risk With Better Nutrition

Prostate cancer risk factors increase for individuals who do not focus on taking care of their bodies or their health. Among many environmental and genetic factors simply practicing better nutrition can lower your risk of prostate cancer and can even increase your overall mortality rate as prostate cancer is the fifth leading cancer killer in America. Luckily for the willing, prostate cancer risk factors can easily be minimized by following these simple steps.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat more tomatoes. Tomatoes contain an amply supply of lycopene which has been shown in clinical studies to lower prostate cancer risk in men. Try to add more tomatoes to your diet by dicing them up and adding them to most meals. Canned tomatoes are OK but they contain a lot of sodium. For even better nutrition you can purchase tangerine tomatoes which will offer your body the most lycopene possible.

• 2

  When you cook or eat foods that are rich in lycopene such as tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, etc. pair them with good fats such as olive oil, nuts, avocado, etc. As lycopene helps lower prostate cancer risk, fats increase the body's ability to absorb lycopene and put it to good use. Pairing your foods optimally is simply better nutrition then eating these same foods separately.

• 3

  Combine broccoli and tomatoes in your meals whenever you are tempted to use one ingredient or the other. Not only has the pair of foods been shown to lower prostate cancer risk but it has even been shown to shrink prostate tumors in rats in laboratory settings. An easy way to combine these foods all the time is to include cherry tomatoes with the meals you make broccoli or serve broccoli on the side of your meals which feature tomato based sauces such as marinara.

• 4

  Do not overindulge in multivitamins as this seemingly ideal form of supplementation is actually counterintuitive and can increase prostate cancer risk. Take up to one multivitamin a day at a maximum.

• 5

  Consider taking a low dose aspirin if you suffer from an enlarged prostate. Prostate cancer risk factors frequently include an enlarged prostate as an early warning sign. Aspirin has been shown in clinical studies to reduce urinary problems in men with enlarged prostates. The aspirin works to minimize further abnormal growth.

• 6

  Add more fruits and vegetable to your diet in general. As stated in step one, two, and three, certain fruits and vegetables are shown to specifically lower prostate cancer risk factors but it has also been shown in medical research that over all better nutrition can cut your risk of prostate cancer in half. Better nutrition (as defined by the National Cancer Institute) is simply eating more fruits and vegetables daily with an emphasis on vegetables that contain high levels of glucosinolates such as cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.