November has become known as Movember for many a moustache sporting male in an effort to raise money and awareness of prostate cancer. Briefly, the prostate is a walnut-sized gland that surrounds the urethra. Like the glandular tissue of the breast, the glandular tissue of the prostate can become cancerous. The older a man gets, the more likely he will develop cancerous tissue in the prostate. In Canada, prostate cancer is the third leading cause of male deaths from cancer with 4,100 deaths per year (11 per day) and 21,300 diagnosed per year. In the US over 161,000 are diagnosed with 23,000 deaths. It is significant, deadly AND largely preventable. As with all cancers and chronic, degenerative disease, only between 5-10% of cases are genetic which means there are a ton of things that can be done to prevent, slow down or possibly even reverse prostate cancer cells developing and mutating.
Of course you want to know what you can do to potentially prevent getting prostate (or any other form of) cancer. (And don’t say life is too short to give up bacon or your life will most likely be shortened - diet and cancer is that statistically significant - and bacUN is amazing)
First is screening. The generally accepted guideline is that men with average risk have a first screening around age 50. Men with higher risk (direct family member has been diagnosed) can discuss testing as early as 40-45. It is always a conversation with your physician to determine when and if screening should be undertaken and the risks associated with screening. The key to surviving prostate cancer is for it to be detected before it spreads. There are over 2 million men living with prostate cancer in the US. I am not a medical professional so that’s as far as I’ll go on this one. Just have the testing conversation with your doctor please. Which means making an appointment…
What I can offer is some guidance and science-based studies on how to eat to give yourself the best odds. Nutrition and environmental factors are believed to play a massive role in the diseases that impact the majority of developed societies today.
Dairy is a big one to avoid. We have all been subjected to over US$1 billion in milk advertising since 1983. Milk-washing. Why is dairy so bad for cancers such as prostate and breast cancers? Without even factoring in what is added to a cow’s daily does of pharmaceuticals and GMO food crops, think about where all dairy products come from: a cow that has either just given birth or is pregnant. This is for ALL types of milk - organic, hormone free, grass-fed and regular. Dairy cows are pregnant 9.3 of every 12 months of every year until they stop producing enough milk to be profitable. The milk that is secreted is full of pregnancy and/or postpartum hormones ( sex steroid hormones such as estrogen - the bad kind for humans, unlike (soy) plant-estrogens which are not shown to be harmful and may actually beneficial in prevention of prostate cancer). For prostate cancer, of particular concern are growth hormones that are naturally in cow breast milk in order to grow a baby calf into a few hundred pound teenager in a few short months. A lifetime of exposure to these hormones can spur on the growth of hormone-sensitive cancers or aid in the conversion of pre-cancerous cells (we all have them) into mutated cancer cells that could manifest anywhere in the body. Prostate and breast cancers are particularly vulnerable to animal hormones found in dairy and meat.
Poultry and eggs are directly linked to the spread of prostate cancer beyond the prostate and into places like the bones. Harvard University studied over one thousand men with early-stage prostate cancer for several years. Men who ate less than one egg per day (just under 7 per week) had twice the risk of prostate cancer progression then men who never or very rarely ate eggs. Ironically, one of the elements that the egg marketing board professes to be a benefit of egg consumption, choline, may be the culprit. High choline levels in the blood seem to be correlated to developing prostate cancer in the first place. Choline is highly concentrated in eggs but also in meat in dairy. While we need some choline in our diet, you would get enough from half an egg per week which also would keep prostate cancer risk lower. You can also get the smaller required amount of choline from plants.
Why is poultry so detrimental over other meats for prostate cancer? This, too, was a conclusion from the Harvard study. While all animal products significantly increase the risk of all cancer, researchers found a link between chicken and turkey (the most commonly consumed meat in North America) and advancing cancer. The reason is, the carcinogenic build up in the muscles of animals when cooked seems much greater in poultry meat than meat from cows or pigs. Men had a four times greater risk of prostate cancer progression from more aggressive localized prostate cancer if they regularly ate chicken or turkey. Skin on, skin off, boneless, organic, conventional - it doesn’t matter - its the cooking of the meat that impacts cancer.
For dairy, eggs and poultry the risk comes from the product itself, not how it was fed and raised. Do not kid yourself that spending the extra money on something that is well-advertised to be more ‘humane’ or organic, grass fed or free range is going to decrease your odds of developing prostate cancer. Men - you may need to drive this one home if you value your prostate! Even if you develop prostate cancer that is then successfully operated on, are you prepared for the urinary tract and erectile issues that often come from surgery? Is braving the change to a more plant-based diet worth it? The makers of men’s incontinence undergarments are hoping you keep eating animals, lets just say…
It is such a habit to design meals around an animal protein. How many mornings start with an egg or two in some form and then dinner (and maybe even lunch too) with some sort of chicken or turkey product? Hopefully your love for your prostate and your hygiene dignity as you age will spawn some conversation about making changes at home. A new habit takes just 21 days to form. Whether you are 35, 55, 75 or 95 (or beyond) it is important to start now. And food is the easy part. Non-invasive. Deliciously nourishing.
Exercise plays an important role in cell health. While diet can account for up to 90% of success in weight loss, exercise plays a more important role in disease prevention and disease maintenance (slowing the spread of cancer, for example). A massive 15+ year study was undertaken at UCLA. Men eating a plant-based diet and exercising moderately (walking daily equivalent) versus men exercising strenuously for at least one hour per day, 5 days per week but eating standard american diet and those just eating the standard american diet not exercising much, which was the control group. After 15 years of these lifestyles, the blood of the exercisers did well killing off 2000% more cancer cells than the control group’s blood. The blood of the vegan men who moderately exercised killed off 4000% more cancer cells than the control. Nutrition combined with moderate movement seriously impacts the growth and death of cancer cells! What this shows is that while exercise alone does impact the health of your cells it is at a level of exercise that the majority of people will never do or a least not for their entire lives. A whole foods (non-processed) plant-based diet combined with moderate movement (something most of us can or do perform already) shoots the lights out of cancerous cells.
Exercise is a key component to lifelong health but it should be combined with little to no animal products to be impactful long-term. This is why today you are seeing NBA, NFL, Formula One, UFC fighters, and other strength-based athletes not normally associated with plant-based diets stepping into the media to announce their conversion to veganism. You need plants to perform your best short and long-term and to live a healthier long life not just a long, institutionalized life.
Eat well. Move well. Enjoy your prostate in tact for a long, long time (or support the prostate of the men in your life).
In the general words of Dr. Michael Greger in How Not to Die: A prostate-healthy diet is a breast-healthy diet is a heart-healthy diet is a body-healthy diet. What is good for your body is good for the animals and good for the planet. Win-win-win. Happy Movember!
Note: If you are seeking specific ideas on eating for optimal disease support or prevention or would like reference to the studies cited, please contact me directly at [email protected].
Share this Post