Foods that fight prostate cancer
Studies show that diet can influence your risk of prostate cancer, and even slow its progression if you already have it. Find out which foods you should add to your diet
Tomatoes and tomato products
If the color pink (think pink ribbons) symbolizes the fight against breast cancer, the color red actually fights prostate cancer! An antioxidant called lycopene, which gives tomatoes their fire-engine hue, helps prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth. Lycopene (a member of the carotenoid family, like beta-carotene) does this by preventing free radicals from damaging cells, including the all-important DNA inside. DNA damage is what leads healthy cells to turn cancerous. Some research suggests that the lycopene in about two daily servings of tomato sauce or juice curbs DNA damage by 28 percent. What does that mean for men? Well, in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, an ongoing study of the diet and lifestyle habits of 50,000 men, guys who ate at least two servings of tomato sauce a week lowered their prostate cancer risk by 23 percent.
Aim for: A half cup (125 millilitres) of cooked tomatoes twice a week appears to help prevent prostate cancer. Even if you've already been diagnosed, eating cooked tomatoes frequently may slow the progression of the disease. Although about 85 percent of our lycopene comes from tomatoes, watermelon, red grapefruit and guava are also good sources.
Helpful hint: Although all tomatoes contain lycopene, when they're cooked with a little oil, the lycopene becomes more available, which is why tomato sauce is such a good way to increase your intake. To give your sauce even more cancer-fighting punch, add cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale and cauliflower, which have proven anticancer compounds.
Aim for: A half cup (125 millilitres) of cooked tomatoes twice a week appears to help prevent prostate cancer. Even if you've already been diagnosed, eating cooked tomatoes frequently may slow the progression of the disease. Although about 85 percent of our lycopene comes from tomatoes, watermelon, red grapefruit and guava are also good sources.
Helpful hint: Although all tomatoes contain lycopene, when they're cooked with a little oil, the lycopene becomes more available, which is why tomato sauce is such a good way to increase your intake. To give your sauce even more cancer-fighting punch, add cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale and cauliflower, which have proven anticancer compounds.
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