A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts can help men who have undergone prostate cancer treatment recover sexual and urinary function.
The news comes from a prospective study published in the American Cancer Society Journals and gives prostate cancer survivors hope of managing and improving some of their symptoms through nutrition and diet. The study is believed to be the first of its kind to link better urinary health to nutrition.
A research team from New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health polled 3,505 health care professionals with nonmetastatic prostate cancer. All of them had early-stage prostate cancer that had not yet spread to other organs. The average age of men diagnosed was 68. Almost half of the men in the study (48 percent) underwent surgery to remove the prostate gland to treat the cancer. Thirty-five percent received radiation therapy as their primary treatment.
The men were divided into five groups based on the amount of plant-based foods they ate. The group that ate the most plant-based foods scored 8 percent to 11 percent better in measures of sexual function than the group that ate the least amount of plant-based foods. Additionally, the same high plant-consuming group scored 14 percent higher for urinary health and had fewer issues with incontinence, obstruction, and irritation.
“Our findings offer hope for those looking for ways to improve their quality of life after undergoing surgery, radiation, and other common therapies for prostate cancer, which can cause significant side effects,” study lead author and urologist Dr. Stacy Loeb said in a press release. “Adding more fruits and vegetables to their diet, while reducing meat and dairy, is a simple step that patients can take.”
The men in the group also experienced fewer issues with hormones, such as low energy, depression, and hot flashes, especially in comparison to the group that ate the least amount of plants and plant-based foods.
Modest Returns on Quality of Life
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers. According to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States, just behind lung cancer. The American Cancer Society notes that only about one in 44 men will die of prostate cancer, so the survival rate is encouraging if the cancer is caught early.“In fact, more than 3.3 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today,” the American Cancer Society states.
Prostate cancer can cause myriad symptoms ranging from issues with urinating, blood in the urine or semen, bone pain, weight loss, or erectile dysfunction. Risk factors include being older than 50, race, family history, and obesity.
The new study results could be a boon for men recovering from prostate cancer, Dr. Loeb and her team noted.
“This prospective study provides supportive evidence that greater consumption of healthful plant-based foods is associated with modestly higher scores in quality-of-life domains among patients with prostate cancer,” the research team wrote.
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