Nutrition Support for Prostate Cancer

Eating right is always important at all times in your life. Eating a balanced diet of nutrient-rich food helps to bolster the body’s immune system, maintain an ideal weight, and support the healthy functioning of the body’s many intricate systems. Conversely, eating a diet high in fat and processed foods will put you at risk for obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and a variety of other conditions including cancer.

For men who have already been diagnosed with prostate cancer, they have likely begun a treatment plan put together by their doctor that takes into account their diagnosis, stage of cancer, and lifestyle. Certainly any oncologist is going to be as aggressive as possible in treating any cancer diagnosis and for prostate cancer, which is so curable in its earlier stages when the cancer is still confined to the prostate and adjacent areas, the earliest, most aggressive treatment is ideal. A man with prostate cancer can certainly feel like he is out of control of his life - with treatments happening to him and a plan he never considered now at the center of his day-to-day activities. But there are things he can take control over including his own nutrition. Eating right now can go a long way towards maintaining strength during treatment as well as minimizing the risk of cancer reoccurring.

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Make your choices as colorful as possible. Fruits and veggies offer your body the nutrients it needs to stay strong as well as antioxidants to help fight cancer.

Avoid processed foods as well as those that are smoked and pickled.

Follow a low-fat diet that includes lean protein and low-fat dairy.

Limit alcohol consumption.

Limit your consumption of red meat.

Eat a high-fiber diet that includes whole grains.

Food has a tremendous impact on our health. These are the nutrients we put in our bodies every day. We can either choose to risk obesity and a variety of diseases by making poor choices or choose to put healthy things in our body that arm us with the tools we need to stay healthy and strong - through cancer treatment and beyond.

About AuthorDr. Echt and his team at the Prostate Seed Institute offer the most highly sophisticated methods of radiation therapy available in the United States, equal to that found in major medical center and academic settings. These include prostate seed implantation, high dose radiation implants, and external beam radiation with image-guided and intensity-modulated (IGRT and IMRT) capabilities.