Ways to Improve Prostate Health

Author: Lewis Jackson
Date Of Creation: 7 May 2021
Update Date: 1 July 2024
Anonim
Foods to Avoid with Enlarged Prostate | Reduce Symptoms and Risk of Prostate Cancer
Video: Foods to Avoid with Enlarged Prostate | Reduce Symptoms and Risk of Prostate Cancer

Content

The prostate gland is a small gland in men and is located near the bladder. Prostate disease is quite common and if you are a man it is important to watch for the signs of prostate cancer, especially the probability of getting it increased with age. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some stage in their life. In the United States, it is the second highest number of male cancer deaths. In 2015, an estimated 27,540 people died of prostate cancer. There are, however, a number of preventive strategies we can take to reduce the risk of developing the disease, including dietary and lifestyle changes, and awareness of family history.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Changing Your Diet


  1. Eat whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables. Choose whole grain breads and pastas over white bread and pasta. Consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, including agricultural products high in lycopene and antioxidants, such as red peppers and tomatoes. Lycopene is the substance that gives fruit its red color and has been shown to have anti-cancer effects. In general, the darker and brighter the produce, the better.
    • There are currently no guidelines for how much lycopene you need per day, but research shows that for lycopene to work, you must eat foods containing lycopene all day to get enough of this quality.
    • Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and kale are also good anti-cancer foods. Several controlled studies have shown that prostate cancer risk is reduced with increased consumption of cruciferous vegetables, although the evidence is currently only inference.

  2. Choose foods that provide protein. Cut back on red meats, including beef, pork, lamb, and goat, and limit processed meats like sandwich and hot dogs.
    • Instead of red meat, choose fish high in omega-3 acids like salmon and tuna. These foods are not only beneficial for prostate health, but also for the heart and immune system. Research on the relationship between fish consumption and its ability to prevent prostate cancer is mainly based on correlated data, for example the fact that Japanese people have very little prostate cancer, while there they eat a lot of fish. Even today it is still debated about this causal relationship.
    • Beans, skinless poultry, and eggs are also good protein choices.

  3. Add more soybeans to your meal. Soy is an ingredient in many vegetarian dishes, and has anti-cancer properties. Sources of soybeans include tofu, soybeans, soybean meal, and raw soybean meal. Replacing cow's milk with soy milk when eating cereal or coffee is also a way to add soy.
    • Recent research shows that soybeans and some of its products, like tofu, may prevent prostate cancer. However, we cannot extend this statement to all soy products, including soy milk.There are currently no guidelines for how much soy you should consume, whether it's oral or evidence-based guidelines.
  4. Limit alcohol, caffeine, and sugar consumption. Although you don't have to completely eliminate caffeine from your diet, do try to cut back on your intake. For example, you should only drink one to two cups (120 ml / cup) of coffee a day, as with beer. Think of it as a way to indulge yourself and drink only a few small drinks a week.
    • Avoid sugary (sometimes caffeinated) beverages such as soda and fruit juices. These drinks have almost no nutritional benefit.
  5. Limit salt intake. The best way to reduce sodium intake is to eat fresh produce, dairy products and meats, and avoid packaged, canned and frozen foods. Salt is used as a preservative, so it is abundant in pre-packaged foods.
    • When going to the market, you should loit about on the outer rim of the supermarket as most fresh food is sold there, while the canned and packaged foods gather on the shelves in the aisle.
    • Spend time reading and comparing brands. Most food labels must state the amount of sodium in the product, and its percentage of the recommended daily intake of sodium.
    • The American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day in Americans.
  6. Maintain healthy fats and eliminate harmful fats. Limit your intake of saturated fats from animals, and instead switch to the healthy fats found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Fatty animal products like meat, butter and lard have been linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer.
    • Avoid fast foods and most processed foods, as they often contain partially hydrogenated fats (trans fats), which are very harmful fats.
    advertisement

Method 2 of 3: Changing Other Habits in Life

  1. Take supplements. Many cancer studies emphasize the importance of getting nutrients through food instead of taking vitamin supplements whenever possible. However, there are also some cases where supplements are a better choice. You must consult your doctor about any dietary supplements you are taking or plan to use.
    • Take a zinc supplement. Most men don't get enough zinc with their meals, so they need to take a supplement to maintain prostate health. Research has shown that zinc deficiency can lead to prostate enlargement, and zinc also plays a role in the development of prostate cells into malignancies. You can take 50 to 100 (even 200) mg of zinc per day as a supplement to reduce prostate enlargement.
    • Drink dwarf palm extract made from the berries of the dwarf palm tree (Saw Palmetto). Both the medical community and users have had mixed feedback on the benefits of this supplement, so you should consult your doctor before taking it. Some studies suggest that dwarf palm fruit extract may help suppress the growth and division of prostate cancer cells.
    • Other studies confirm that taking certain supplements, such as vitamin E supplements or folic acid (a B vitamin), may increase the risk of prostate cancer. There is also research that demonstrates that if you take a variety of supplements (more than 7), including the one known to increase the risk of prostate cancer, it will accelerate the cancer to an advanced stage. base.
  2. Give up smoking. Although there is still a lot of debate about the link between prostate cancer and smoking, it is believed that tobacco can cause cell damage through free radicals, leading to the link between cancer and smoking. the drug is more reliable. In a meta-analysis of 24 studies, smoking was found to be a real risk for prostate cancer.
  3. Maintain a healthy weight. If you are overweight, then do a diet and exercise to bring your body weight to a healthy limit. Body mass index BMI is used to determine whether you are overweight or obese, which is the parameter that shows your fatness. BMI is calculated by taking body weight in kilograms (kg) divided by the square of your height in meters (m). BMI values ​​between 25-29 are considered overweight, and if you are over 30, you are in the obese group.
    • Reduce calorie intake and increase exercise, this is the key to losing weight.
    • Monitor portion sizes, try to slow down, chew food well and enjoy food, and finally stop eating when you feel full. Remember to eat only enough, not to the fullness of your neck.
  4. Exercise regularly. Regular exercise not only reduces your risk of some cancers, but also helps prevent other health problems, including depression, heart disease and stroke. Although the causal relationship between exercise and prostate health has not been confirmed, there have been many studies to date proving that exercise is very beneficial in maintaining prostate health.
    • You should exercise for about 30 minutes with moderate intensity to fast intensity and exercise many days a week. However, even if you only train at a slow to moderate pace such as brisk walking, it is very beneficial for the prostate. If you haven't exercised in a while, start with walking to work, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and walking at night. Then gradually increase your intensity with exercises that increase your heart rate such as cycling, swimming, or jogging.
  5. Do a Kegel exercise. Kegels work by contracting the muscles in the pelvic floor (as if you were trying to stop urinating halfway), trying to hold them for a short time and then release. Doing this exercise regularly will help tone the pelvic floor muscles. You can practice the Kegel exercises anywhere because it requires no special equipment!
    • Tighten the muscles around the scrotum and anus for a few seconds, then release, repeat 10 times and do three to four times a day to improve prostate health. Try to increase the time each squeeze time by 10 seconds.
    • You can also practice Kegels by lying flat on the floor with your pelvis lifted off the ground, your buttocks tight. Hold for 30 seconds, then release. Practice for five minutes each time and practice three times a day.
  6. Ejaculate regularly. For a long time many researchers believe that frequent ejaculation during sex, masturbation or even dreaming will increase the risk of prostate cancer. But later studies suggest that regular ejaculation is actually possible protect Prostate. According to their opinion, ejaculation helps to eliminate carcinogens present in the prostate gland, as well as the fluid in this gland to renew faster and reduce the risk of cancer. In addition, regular ejaculation also reduces psychological stress, thereby slowing the growth of cancer cells.
    • That said, the research on this issue is only in its infancy, scientists also say that it is too early to make an official recommendation on men's sexual habits. For example, they do not know how often men should ejaculate to get the results of the study. However, they do suspect that people who ejaculate regularly also have other indicators of a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet and regular exercise.
    advertisement

Method 3 of 3: Prevention with Medicines

  1. Awareness of family history. Having a male family member in a next generation (such as a father or brother) with prostate cancer is significantly more likely to get the disease. In fact, the risk is twice as high! It is important that you tell your doctor about a family history of prostate cancer to work together to develop a comprehensive prevention program.
    • Note that if your brother or brother has prostate cancer, the risk is higher than if he has this disease.There is also an increased risk for those who have more than one family member having the disease, especially when those close relatives discover the disease at an early age (eg before age 40).
    • Ask your doctor to test if you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, which is an increased risk factor for prostate cancer.
  2. Know the symptoms of prostate disease. These symptoms include erectile dysfunction, blood in the urine, pain during urination or sex, pain in the hip or lower back, or frequent feeling of urination.
    • However, prostate cancer usually has no symptoms until it has spread to other parts of the body, such as metastasis to the bones. Patients with this condition rarely report symptoms such as being unable to hold urine, blood in the urine, impotence, or the symptoms mentioned above.
  3. Periodic medical examination. The American Cancer Society recommends screening for prostate cancer starting at age 50 (or 45 if you are at risk). Screening requires a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. PSA is produced from both normal cells and prostate cancer cells in small amounts in the blood. Most men have a PSA level of 4 nanograms per milliliter (ng / ml) of blood, the higher the PSA level, the greater the risk of cancer. The time between screening visits depends on the results of the test. Men with PSA levels below 2.5 ng / ml need to be re-tested every 2 years, but those with higher PSA levels need to be seen every year.
    • Screening may also include a finger rectal exam (DRE). The doctor uses his finger to detect a small lump behind the prostate gland.
    • Neither the PSA test nor the DRE can reach a definitive conclusion. You will need to do additional biopsy to confirm prostate cancer.
    • The American Cancer Society currently recommends that men make decisions about prostate cancer screening after having consulted fully with their doctor. Screening can detect cancer early, but there are no studies that confirm whether early detection can save a patient's life. Even so, early detection of cancer has a higher chance of being successfully cured.
    advertisement

Warning

  • Prostate problems should not be ignored. If you do not cure prostate enlargement it will develop into other more serious illnesses such as urinary tract infections, kidney stones and bladder, other problems with the kidneys and bladder.
  • If you are a veteran of Agent Orange, you have an increased risk of prostate cancer.