Simple ways to reduce the risk of cancer of the prostate

^{How to} Avoid Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, second only to skin cancer in the U.S., and a leading cause of death among men. Most men can be expected to eventually get it if they live long enough. Moreover, it is very difficult to cure.

Fortunately, there is also some good news. Perhaps most important is the fact that it is usually a very slowly progressing form of cancer, and thus it is usually not the cause of death.

In addition, there is increasing indication that prostate cancer is largely avoidable through one's lifestyle, particularly diet. In fact, there are several foods that can be eaten, each of which has shown indications of significantly reducing the risk of prostate cancer.

Perhaps the most beneficial foods are those that contain the substance lycopene, which is the red pigment that gives tomatoes their bright red color. It is possible that this beneficial effect results from the anti-oxidant properties of lycopene, but there could be other mechanisms at work as well.

Lycopene is also found in abundance in watermelons and, to a lesser extent, in pink grapefruit. Interestingly, tomatoes must be cooked for lycopene to be effective, in contrast to watermelons and pink grapefruit. Lycopene is not contained in white or yellow grapefruit. Strawberries, despite their bright red color, do not contain lycopene; rather, the color is produced by a different pigment.

Pomegranate juice contains antioxidants that could also be particularly helpful in preventing or slowing prostate cancer, according to some recent research.

Another preventative measure is to intake sufficient selenium. Although this metal can be toxic in large amounts, small amounts, such as that obtained from eating several cloves of garlic per day, have shown signs of being particularly useful in preventing prostate cancer.

Eating soy products, such as tofu and soy milk, instead of red meat may also be protective, which could help explain the low rates of prostate cancer among both vegetarians and Japanese men (who traditionally ate little red meat but consumed much tofu). This might be because soybeans, which are a rich source of an estrogen-like plant compound, could inhibit hormones that promote prostate cancer. However, the results about the benefits of soy are still not conclusive.

As is the case with many types of cancer, as well as numerous other diseases, avoiding a sedentary lifestyle and watching ones weight are probably likewise helpful in avoiding prostate cancer.