Prostate Cancer Nutrition: Isoflavones and Polyphenols

Prostate Cancer Nutrition is the diet to be taken to prevent the prostate cancer. One of the most galling prostate cancer statistics is that men in America are much more likely to be sufferers of the disease than are men from Asia or Europe . There are many theories as to why this is so, but one especially stands out – diet. It seems that what American men eat have an effect on the illnesses’ rate of occurrence.

Prostate Cancer Nutrition : Western Diet and Asian Diet

For instance, when comparing with American-born men, Asian-born men have much lower rates of prostate cancer development, the rates be inclined to balance after Asian men have lived in the United States for a period of time. This shift in rates is still unaccounted for, but as said above, the Western diet might have something to do with it. Unlike Asian diets, Western diets are rich in fat and carbohydrates – which might be the reason why prostate cancer rates increase for those who subscribe to them. Recent research has shown a link between prostate cancer and obesity, even though the full consequences are still under investigation.

There is, of course, another possible explanation, and that is Western diets be deficient in something that Eastern diets are rich with. A nutrient found in Asian diets might be noticeably absent from most American dinner tables, and this nutrient might be the important one to prostate cancer protection.

While there is currently a scramble to discover what this nutrient (or nutrients) is, there are two primary candidates: the polyphenols in green tea and the isoflavones that can be found in soy. These food items, of course, can be found in material quantities in Asian-style diets, but are negligible in most American ones. 

What are Isoflavones?

Isoflavones are nutrients that have been found to interrupt cell growth pathways and angiogenesis. In other words, it might play a role in how cancer cells grow and develop. Namely, they slow them down. Isoflavones also affect how the body produces, uses, and gets rid of hormones like testosterone and estrogen, which cancer cells survive on to grow. Thus, in the development and progress of all cancer along with prostate cancer, the isoflavones are potentially important variables.

Soy is one of the foods rich in isoflavones, so cancer patients are encouraged to eat this food item. Although past research studies have produced conflicting reports about the efficiency of soy-based products on prostate cancer, it is clear that the isoflavones themselves bring about better overall health. That alone should be reason adequate for more people to consume more of it.

What are Polyphenols?

Like isoflavones, polyphenols are nutrients that disturb the growth pathways of cancer cells. They also hold back the development and progress of angiogenesis, which is the process by which tumors form new blood vessels to advance their own growth. As with isoflavones, it is uncertain just how much polyphenols require to be consumed so their benefits can be derived. One often-cited study found that green tea could help prevent cancer.

The problem is that the amount required, 10 cups a day, might be a little extreme. No wonder the companies that sell tea keep quoting these results. However, other polyphenol-rich beverages akin to red wine may also confer the nutrient’s benefits, even with just one cup a day. Even though the research on this area is still ongoing, it holds much promise. If a few simple dietary changes can lower the risk of prostate cancer, then much progress will have been against this terror disease.