Reducing Prostate Cancer Risks: Another Reason Your Diet Is Important

High-calorie diets may put you at risk for prostate cancer. Read on to learn about prostate cancer prevention.

Men already know that a healthy diet is integral to maintaining heart health and reducing cholesterol. And although we know we need to change our eating habits to improve our health, that doesn't always result in making the right food choices consistently. When we do get serious about eating well, it's likely a result of wanting to improve our physical appearance and drop a few pounds. And once we drop the weight, it's easy to go back to cheeseburgers and pizza until the jeans start getting tight again.

But men have another significant reason to finally get serious about changing eating habits permanently. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and the diet you're eating may have a direct impact on your prostate cancer risks. If you have a family history of prostate cancer, you need to consult a doctor with expertise in diagnosing prostate health. Making some simple changes to your diet can ensure you aren't raising your risks without even knowing it.

Decrease Your Calorie Intake

Recent studies have shown that high-calorie diets can have a big impact on increasing prostate cancer risks. Men who consume a lot of calories are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and just reducing calorie intake can lower your risks. Having a strategy in place to still feel full while consuming fewer calories requires changing the way you approach eating. While you shouldn't start obsessing about every calorie, getting familiar with the calorie content in the foods you're eating is the best way to get a grasp on how many calories you're actually eating. Get in the habit of writing down the amount of calories in each item you eat throughout the day.

If your goal is a daily intake of 2,500 calories, the fewer calories in each thing you eat allows you more food throughout the day. Making choices about the foods you consume based on calorie amounts can go a long way in reducing overall caloric intake. Instead of blowing half your daily calorie allotment on a double cheeseburger and fries, you'll be a lot more likely to choose lower calorie options. Get in the habit of eating leafy green salads and lose the French fries. If you're not loading high calorie salad dressing on your salads, you can virtually eat as much as you want and never come near breaking your calorie budget.

Cut the Saturated Fat Content

If you really want to get serious about reducing your risks of prostate cancer, you need to drastically cut down on your saturated fat intake. Just following through on this simple tactic can decrease your prostate cancer risks in two ways. Saturated fat is high in calories. Animal fat sources are typically the biggest culprits. Reducing saturated fat intake across the board will result in fewer calories consumed. This alone can reduce prostate cancer risks. But there's more to it then that. Saturated fats contain high amounts of low density lipoproteins. LDLs are most famous for contributing to high cholesterol. But they play a role in prostate cancer risks as well.

LDLs also function as fuel that cancer cells need for growth. So cutting saturated fat consumption can reduce your prostate cancer risk two-fold. That doesn't mean all fat is bad though. You can easily switch to plant-based fats like extra virgin olive oils and avocados. And the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish aren't just a good fat substitute; they have many additional healthy properties too. If you set out on a consistent diet plan that reduces your calorie intake in a meaningful way and cuts most of the saturated fat out completely, you're off to a good start to really reducing your risk for prostate cancer in the future. Getting back into your skinny jeans again is just a nice bonus.

REFERENCES

• International Science News: Diet, Exercise Slow Prostate Cancer As Much As 30%
• MayoClinic: Prostate cancer prevention: Ways to reduce your risk

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