Author: Riley Pearce
Director of Social Media
For our final Movember article it is time to get down to the nitty gritty of what can actually help to reduce your/a loved one’s risk of developing prostate cancer.
First let’s look at the facts:
- Prostate cancer is the 4th most common type of cancer in Canada
- 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime
- Close to 23,000 men will be diagnosed with this form of cancer in 2019
- This is the #1 cancer diagnosis in men
- 99% of prostate cancers occur in men over the age of 50
It’s pretty clear from these facts that prostate cancer is something that as men, or those who care about men, we should be taking steps to reduce risk.
Thankfully, a study from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) found several different lifestyle changes that have been clinically tested and observed to help reduce the aggressiveness of prostate cancer.
The study gathered a little over 2,200 american men who had been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Researchers took samples of blood and used other common methods of testing the severity of cancer to determine how advanced and aggressive the participant’s prostate cancer was.
Researchers then provided 8 lifestyle changes that the men should undertake to reduce the risk of their prostate cancer carrying on in its current level of virulence. Based on the men’s adherence to those lifestyle changes, and the number of lifestyle changes they adopted, their risk dropped accordingly.
If men were to only take on 4 of the 8, they’d be at a 38% greater chance of developing a more aggressive tumour. But for every point of adherence to the protocol, the risk of developing a more aggressive tumour dropped by 13%.
So what are the 8 lifestyle changes they proposed and found to be effective?
First, they recommend that all men aim to be as lean as possible, carrying as little additional body fat as is healthy for their height and weight. With that said, men should not become underweight, so speak with a doctor to determine what a healthy weight and bodyfat percentage are for you or your loved one.
The next recommendation is one that we are very familiar with at Free Form Fitness. The researchers found that men who were physically active for at least 30 minutes a day reduced their risk of developing more aggressive tumours.
The following recommendation looks at a common villain in the world of diseases – sugar. It should come as no surprise that the researchers recommended that men keep their sugars low, and to especially avoid sugary drinks and energy dense (high calorie, small portion size) foods.
Next up is another dietary recommendation that we’ve seen before: consume a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. Following this, the researchers recommend that men limit their consumption of processed and red meats. Not to eliminate entirely, as red meats do come packed with important nutrients, but to limit their consumption. These two recommendations are really trying to emphasize the fact that if men want to be as healthy as possible, their diet should consist of a variety of foods, instead of the standard north american “meat and potatoes” diet.
Next on the list – alcohol. If men are going to consume alcohol, researchers suggest that they limit it to 2 drinks per day as alcohol has been shown to have inflammatory effects on the body. Chronic inflammation can only lead to a decrease in health status, so if someone already has a tumour, it makes sense that they would want to avoid pro-inflammatory foods.
Second to last recommends a reduction of salt in the diet, and to avoid foods that are highly processed with salt.
The final recommendation was to avoid supplements that claim to protect against cancer. They emphasize that lifestyle changes are the best way to reduce your risks, and then following doctors recommendations for treatment plans if you or a loved one have already been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
So there you have it! If you or a loved one are at risk of a prostate cancer diagnosis, or have already been diagnosed and want to control the disease, these are the changes you should consider making.
The purpose of this article is not to propose clinical treatment of prostate cancer. The article is simply to report on scientific findings and share the best data to help with audiences own personal research.
