Can a Prostate Cancer Diet Improve Your Treatment Outcome?

Nutrition is always important when you’re going through cancer treatment, whether it’s for prostate cancer or another kind of cancer. But there’s some evidence to suggest that eating certain foods may increase the risk that your prostate cancer will grow or spread, while eating other foods may help to keep your prostate cancer in check.

In general, you should avoid red meat and eat a diet low in calories and fat. Some specific foods you can eat to help improve your prostate cancer treatment outcome includes fish, soy, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables, poultry, liver, and pomegranate juice. Let’s take a look at some of the dietary guidelines that can help you overcome prostate cancer.

What You Should Eat During Prostate Cancer Treatment

You should eat a generally healthy diet and limit your consumption of alcohol while you receive prostate cancer treatment. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, including:

• Mushrooms
• Tomatoes, especially cooked or processed
• Brazil nuts
• Sweet potatoes
• Carrots
• Cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, kale, broccoli, and cabbage
• Grapes
• Pomegranates and pomegranate juice
• Avocados
• Citrus fruits
• Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries

These foods contain plenty of antioxidants, polyphenols, and other substances shown to fight cancer. You should also eat plenty of vegetable protein in the form of beans and legumes. According to WebMD, a traditional Japanese-style diet that is high in soy, green tea, and oily fish can help you fight prostate cancer. Alternatively, you may switch to a more Mediterranean-style diet, and begin eating more fruits, vegetables, grains, garlic, olive oil, fish, poultry, and red wine. Drink plenty of water and green tea. Eat whole foods as much as possible.

Some Foods Can Hold Your Treatment Back

Just as there are some foods that can complement your prostate cancer treatment, there are also some foods that may encourage the spread of prostate cancer and make treatment less effective. Minimize your consumption of these foods while you’re going through prostate cancer treatment, or avoid them altogether:

• Flax seed or flax seed oil, which can cause prostate cancer to grow
• Canola, corn, or soybean oils
• Red meat
• Excessive amounts of dairy products, since calcium can cause prostate cancer to spread
• Pickled, salted, or otherwise preserved foods
• Burned, toasted, or charred foods
• Fried foods
• Foods that contain trans fatty acids
• Sugary foods
• Alcohol

While your body will still need some fat in order to function properly, you should keep your fat intake to a minimum during prostate cancer treatment. Quit smoking, if you haven’t already, and make sure to get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly. The better you care for your body’s physical and nutritional needs, the better you will be able to fight prostate cancer.

If you’re going through prostate cancer treatment, certain foods may make it easier to overcome the disease. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, soy, olive oil, grains, and poultry. Drink a little red wine once in a while. Eating a healthy diet can help you look and feel your best during and after treatment.