Foods and Prostate Cancer Survival - How Foods Fight Cancer

Foods and Prostate Cancer Survival - How Foods Fight Cancer

A man in Hong Kong is eight times more likely to survive
prostate cancer compared to his Swedish counterpart.

Many research studies have shown how foods affect the risk of developing
prostate cancer. Vegetables and fruits reduce the risk, while
dairy products and fatty foods appear to increase it.

But what about after prostate cancer has been diagnosed? Will a
change in eating habits help beat the disease? More research is needed, but
evidence already available suggests that, whatever other treatments a man
may undergo, changes in his diet might well save his life.

The first clues that diet could make a big difference in survival
emerged from international comparisons in the 1970s. A man in Hong
Kong, where diets are rich in rice and vegetables, is half as likely to have
cancerous cells in his prostate compared to a man in Sweden, where
diets are high in dairy products and meat. But if cancer happens to
strike, a man in Hong Kong is eight times more likely to survive it compared
to his Swedish counterpart.1 In other words, it appears that the
same sort of dietary habits that reduce the risk of cancer also slow its
progress if it occurs.

Why would dietary changes help? One explanation relates to insulinlike
growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a substance in the bloodstream that is a
powerful stimulus for cancer cell growth. Men following plant-based diets
have lower IGF-1 levels than other men, while dairy products tend to drive
IGF-1 levels up. Men following low-fat, high-fiber diets also have slightly
lower testosterone and estrogen levels and higher levels of a protein called
sex hormone-binding globulin, which binds and temporarily inactivates
testosterone and estrogen. The net effect is a drop in the biochemical factors
that stimulate cancer growth.