Mediterranean diet best prevention against prostate cancer

Study co-author Dr Permal Deo says eating foods that are naturally rich in lycopene and selenium is preferable to taking supplements, where the benefits are limited, according to previous studies.

“Our recommendation is to adopt a Mediterranean diet enlisting the help of a dietician because people absorb nutrients in different ways, depending on the food, the digestive system, the person’s genotype and possibly their microbiome,” Dr Deo says.

Prostate cancer remains one of the most common and fatal cancers in men, but the nutritional deficiencies associated with it remain largely unknown, hence this study.

Other risk factors, such as ethnicity, family history and age have previously been linked to prostate cancer.

“There is strong evidence that being overweight and tall increases the risk of prostate cancer. Diets high in dairy products and low in vitamin E may also increase the risk but the evidence is less clear.”

Vitamin E is found in plant-based oils, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.

The research is the first to evaluate plasma concentrations of micronutrients and trace elements with respect to prostate cancer in the South Australian population.

Reference:

Dhillon, V.S.; Deo, P.; Fenech, M. Plasma Micronutrient Profile of Prostate Cancer Cases Is Altered Relative to Healthy Controls-Results of a Pilot Study in South Australia. Cancers 2023, 15, 77.https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15010077.