Three Foods to Help Prevent Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in the United States each year. Prostate cancer typically is an extremely slow-growing cancer. It begins in the prostate gland and is easily treatable in this stage. However, once the cancer begins to grow rapidly or when it spreads outside of the prostate gland, it is potentially dangerous and even deadly.

Prostate cancer treatments typically involve surgery and radiation therapy. Oftentimes, major damage results from these treatments. These treatments are painful and expensive.They also have serious side effects. Side effects from surgery include:

1. Risk from anesthesia
2. Risk of a heart attack
3. Risk of a stroke
4. Blood clot in the legs
5. Infection at the site of the incision
6. Risk of bleeding and requiring a blood transfusion
7. Infections in the abdomen
8. Urinary incontinence
9. Death

Prostate cancer can oftentimes be prevented through consuming good healthy foods. Some foods are particularly beneficial to the prostate gland.Tomatoes and tomato products are among the top foods for prostate health.Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which is the carotenoid that gives many fruits and vegetables their red color.

Eating tomatoes often, preferably on a daily basis can go a long way towards preventing prostate cancer. This is due to the fact that lycopene can accumulate in the cells over time and build up the ability to fight off cancer cells. Tomatoes can easily be consumed fresh or cooked in your favorite dishes. In fact, cooked tomatoes appear to have more cancer-fighting properties than raw tomatoes.

Broccoli has been proven in many studies to be effective in fighting prostate cancer. Broccoli is a powerful cruciferous vegetable rich is sulfer containing compounds known as glucosinolates. Cruciferous vegetables are especially beneficial in prostate health as they aid in removing estrogens and other toxins from the body. It is very important to prepare the broccoli correctly in order to get its cancer fighting components. It is recommended that broccoli be gently steamed to retain most of its anti-cancer compounds.

Tomatoes and broccoli may be more beneficial when consumed together rather than separately. It is believed that the different bioactive compounds in each food work on different anti-cancer pathways. This is the reason the combination of these two foods can be highly effective.

Red raspberries are not only delicious, but are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals that can benefit prostate health and reportedly even prevent prostate cancer. Raspberries contain phytonutrients which are the healing components in the raspberries. These benefits are solely from fresh berries as opposed to processed berries or fruit drinks made from berries. So eating fresh raspberries each day is a good way to protect your prostate health.

As you can clearly see choosing to eat prostate healthy foods is one of the best and easiest things you can do to improve the health of your prostate gland and thereby decrease your risk of prostate cancer. There are many ways to include these delicious foods in your diet so plan to do so on a regular basis.