What should your prostate health diet look like?

Your prostate health may depend on various factors but there are many types of research and studies done on patients, who are given a specific diet known as an enlarged prostate diet, from which you can find effective prostate health tips to keep yourself away from any kind of disorder in this gland. One of the most effective and easy ways to reduce the symptoms of prostate enlargement or reduce the risk of developing any kind of prostate-related issues in the first place is to know what to eat and what not to eat for that.

Foods to avoid

The food items mentioned in this section are a part of a diet that can either aggravate your prostate enlargement or increase the risk of developing it.

• Starch: Some food items such as rice, pasta, and white bread are seemed to have a high glycemic index. This means that these food items are readily broken down into carbohydrates. It has been mentioned in many review articles and research papers that these types of dietary items have a negative impact on your prostate
• Dairy products: There is not enough evidence for this hypothesis, but scientists speculate that foods such as milk yogurt, and cheese may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. As we are talking about prostate health, it is necessary to include every dietary product which may affect it.
• Animal protein: Both animal and plant-based protein is categorized as foods to avoid prostate enlargement. However, animal protein is considered to be worse when talking about its effect on the prostate in comparison to plant protein. Foods like red meat are mentioned again and again in research articles to be avoided by people who suffer from prostate enlargement. Also due to the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, long-term red meat consumption is said to increase the risk of prostate cancer in a person drastically. Specifically speaking, these hydrocarbons are more formed when the red meat is put on fire to grill.
• Alcohol: Sorry folks, no more unlimited beers if you want to keep your prostate in check. Alcohol disrupts prolactin regulation and increases its levels in the body. This may have an impact on the prostate in such a way that high consumption of alcohol can cause benign prostatic hyperplasia. Beer can also increase the symptoms of prostate enlargement as it is a diuretic and increases urine formation.
• Caffeine: This dietary item does not have an impact on the prostate directly as there are no speculations and evidence on the risk of prostate enlargement due to caffeine. However, for a person who already suffers from prostate enlargement, caffeine beverages can aggravate the symptoms as it acts as a strong diuretic. So, it is best for you to avoid these beverages if you are already suffering from prostate-related issues.
• Fat: Foods containing high amounts of fats increase the risk of prostate enlargement. In more specific terms, fatty foods put you at risk of rapid progression of prostate cancer if you already have it.
• Salt: It is actually the sodium present in salt which is suggested to avoid an enlarged prostate. This is mainly due to sodium increasing prostate enlargement symptoms too.

Which food items are good for your prostate health?

Some of the foods in this section reduce the symptoms of prostate enlargement while some of them even help reduce the risk of developing a prostate-related condition:

• Fruits: The red-colored fruits contain a pigment known as lycopene. In many systematic studies related to a prostate health diet, it has been shown that this pigment helps to reduce prostate size and risk of enlarged prostate. Some examples of these fruits are; tomatoes, grapefruit, and apricots.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Some foods such as fish contain these types of fatty acids. These dietary products are shown to reduce some types of cancers in the body and are speculated to help reduce prostate cancer risk too. However, the evidence on this matter is still a matter of research and experimentation but the overall effect of these nutrients is proven to be positive on the body
• Vitamin C: Some citrus fruits such as oranges containing vitamin C are very much associated with reduce in the risk of prostate cancer development. There is a fare amount of research done on this subject to consider it as authentic.
• Zinc: Many nuts containing this nutrient are known to be helpful for prostate diseases. This is because doctors find low levels of zinc in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. The other reason for this is the fact that zinc inhibits the 5-alpha reductase hormone which is responsible for prostate enragement as it is used in the production of testosterone.
• Selenium: Brazilian nuts are the richest source of selenium which is associated with a reduced risk of prostate disease.
• Dark chocolate: some dark chocolates are a good source of beta-sitosterol which improves prostate health and is considered a part of an enlarged prostate diet. Other food items containing this nutrient are avocados and canola oil.
• Garlic and onions: These ingredients are a part of allium vegetables which are considered to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Conclusion

You may find blogs like these, talking about prostate health tips, everywhere on the internet. However, the best way to find the most optimum prostate health diet is to get a consultation from a urologist. Whether you are looking forward to reducing your symptoms or you want to prevent yourself from prostate-related disease, a good urologist will help you to fix your diet plan which will be suitable for you. Dr. Dushyant Pawar, with his years of experience in urology, will provide you with proper guidance to step towards better prostate health.

Contact us now to get yourself an appointment for the best consultation related to your prostate health: Dr. Dushyant Pawar