The antioxidants present in different foods, from green tea to cooked tomatoes, through red fruits, grapes and pomegranate, can really make a difference in the prevention of prostate cancer, opening a new scenario also as a support to therapy, reducing it toxicity and helping to block the progression of the disease. Within a balanced diet, even supplements can have a preventive and protective role in the male population at risk, if prescribed by the andrologist by identifying the right product and the correct dose, to have the maximum effectiveness and the minimum of side effects.
From the experts of the Italian Society of Andrology (SIA), gathered in Rome on the occasion of the National Congress, there are recommendations regarding the use of antioxidants, which shed light on the approaches that have shown greater efficacy. According to the conclusions of the experts who have thoroughly analyzed and described the scientific literature on the subject, the most solid evidence concerns some foods that contain substances with antioxidant and antiproliferative action, such as epigallocatechins, lycopene, resveratrol and recently pterostilbene, with a balance advantageous between efficacy and safety.
Prostate cancer, “with 36,000 new cases a year, represents the most frequent cancer of the male population in Italy – explains Alessandro Palmieri, president of SIA -. It is essential to become aware of the main risk factors, such as having a family history of prostate cancer, advanced age and lifestyles, such as diet. It is shown that the intake of excessive amounts of alcohol, saturated fat, milk derivatives, can play a role in the genesis of such cancer, but research has always tried to identify drugs or natural products capable of preventing the onset of prostate cancer, if administered to individuals at greater risk or to those patients who already had precancerous lesions “.
“A lot of research has highlighted the preventive power of many compounds of natural origin – explains Davide Arcaniolo, member of the Scientific Commission of the SIA – The most studied are undoubtedly the epigallocatechins and lycopene, substances with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action, contained in large quantities mainly in green tea and tomatoes. In a clinical study on a group of subjects at high risk of prostate cancer it was found that those who regularly took epigallocatechins derived from green tea saw a 60% reduction in the risk of getting sick compared to those who took only a placebo substance. The risk can be reduced by up to 80% with an intake of these substances for two consecutive years “.
Even lycopene, contained in large quantities in tomatoes, represents another active principle widely studied in prevention strategies. In a meta-analysis of 42 studies with the observation of nearly 700,000 participants, a protective effect of lycopene was shown to be superior to most other compounds, except for green tea. Furthermore, new studies have demonstrated the particular effectiveness of resveratrol, contained above all in grapes, not only as a preventive action against prostate cancer but also as a support to anti-tumor treatments due to the very high antioxidant potential that acts both in the initial state of the cancer, through blocking factors, and in the most advanced state through suppression factors that slow its progression.
However, continues Palmieri, “we must pay the utmost attention to the supplements, which must be prescribed by the specialist to identify the right type of product for each patient, with the right methods of use, so that the correct dose is not too low and therefore ineffective but not too high and therefore at risk of side effects “.