In a study from the University of California, San Francisco, scientists found that following a healthy plant-based diet after a diagnosis of prostate cancer may help prevent the disease from progressing or recurring.
They found men who ate a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains had a 52% lower risk of cancer progressing and a 53% lower risk of recurrence, compared with men who had the lowest amounts of plants in their diet.
Progressing to advanced disease is one of many pivotal concerns among patients with prostate cancer, their family and caregivers and their physicians.
In the study, the team used data from a study that collected information on more than 2,000 men with prostate cancer.
Over about seven years, the researchers found that men who reported diets that included the highest amounts of plants had a lower risk of both progression and recurrence, compared with men who ate the lowest amounts of plants.
This association did not vary by age, walking pace or the severity of cancer.
The team says post-diagnostic healthful plant-based diets, including vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains, may be associated with a reduction in risk of prostate cancer progression and recurrence, adding to a list of other numerous health benefits including a reduction in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality.
A plant-based diet may have these benefits because fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory components, as well as dietary fiber that improves glucose control and reduce inflammation.
Also, this diet reduces potentially harmful exposures to animal-based foods, such as hormones and heterocyclic amines created during high-temperature cooking, which have been linked to prostate cancer in particular.
Diets high in animal protein may also increase insulin resistance, while milk and dairy may increase levels of the growth factor IGF1, which has been associated with prostate cancer risk.
If you care about prostate cancer, please read studies about new strategy to treat advanced prostate cancer, and a new way to lower risk of prostate cancer spread.
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The study was conducted by Vivian Liu et al and published in presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.
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