Prostate cancer, beneficial effects and dangers of what is put on the plate – breaking latest news

Nutrition, physical activity, lifestyles. Male health also passes from here because overweight, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle they can increase the chances of developing the most common type of cancer in men, prostate cancer. When you sit at the table, it is above all that the danger of getting sick increases foods with a high protein contentwhile the experts of the Italian Society of Andrology (Sia) recall the protective effects of antioxidants contained in green tea and cooked tomatoes and in red fruits, grapes and pomegranatewhich can also play a role as a support to cancer therapy, reducing its toxicity and helping to block the progression of the disease.

Alcohol, saturated fat, milk derivatives

On the occasion of the national congress of the association, the specialists took stock of what was reported in the scientific literature regarding the relationship between prostate cancer and substances with antioxidant and antiproliferative action, such as epigallocatechins, lycopene, resveratrol and recently pterostilbene. With 36 thousand new diagnoses every year, prostate cancer remains the most frequent cancer in the Italian male population – he says Alessandro Palmieri, president of Sia and professor of Urology at the Federico II University of Naples -. It is essential to become aware of the main risk factors, such as having a family history of this neoplasm, advanced age and lifestyles, such as diet. proved that taking excessive amounts of alcohol, saturated fats, milk derivatives, may play a role in the genesis of this disease. Over the years, scientific research has always sought 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, with a very high probability of developing a neoplasm. . The antioxidants present in different foods, from green tea to cooked tomatoes, through red fruits, grapes and pomegranate, can help in prevention – adds Palmieri -. 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.

Epigallocatechins and lycopene: the most studied

Let me be clear: there are no miracle super foods that protect against cancer and no food alone that is harmful. The variables involved are many and each food is part of a diet as a whole, from which it is difficult to separate the effect of the individual. If some nutrients have a particular composition that can make them healthier than others, the quality of the entire diet is king. Thus, while in the past we tried to investigate which individual foods can bring greater benefits, today demonstrated the importance of food (and even more so of lifestyle) as a whole. In short, balance is needed at the table and in lifestyles. Numerous researches have highlighted the preventive power of many compounds of natural origin – he explains Davide Arcaniolo, member of the scientific commission of the SIA and researcher in Urology at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli -. The most studied are undoubtedly 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 (because with precancerous lesions) it was found that those who took regularly epigallocatechine derivate dal t verde saw the risk of getting sick reduced by 60% compared to those taking only a placebo substance. The risk can be reduced by up to 80% by taking these substances for two consecutive years.

Tomato and grape

As for lycopene, contained in large quantities in the pomodoro, in a meta-analysis of 42 studies with the observation of almost 700 thousand participants, its protective effect was shown to be superior to most other compounds, except for green tea. The intake in the diet limited by a low intestinal absorption, which is facilitated when the tomato is cooked – explains Arcaniolo -. Clinical studies have shown that the incidence of prostate cancer is reduced in proportion to the intake of lycopene and its concentrations in the blood. The risk reduction ranges from 12% for all types of prostate cancer to 26% for the more aggressive ones. New studies have then indicated the particular effectiveness of the resveratrol, contained mainly in grapesnot only as a preventive action against prostate neoplasms, but also as a support to anti-tumor treatments due to the very high antioxidant potential that acts both in the initial state of cancer, through blocking factors, and in the more advanced state through suppression factors that they slow down its progression.

Danger of excess pounds

Only recently has been added to the list of beneficial substances Pterostilbenean antioxidant similar to the resveratrol of red wine, found in several foods (from blueberry to peanut): It also showed preventive properties in a study just published in Cancer Prevention Research
– says Palmieri -. As a support to prostate cancer treatment therapy, then very useful the ellagic acid contained in pomegranate: A study demonstrated a reduction in chemotherapy-induced toxicity, particularly neutropenia in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. These natural components can be more effective when taken together in supplements, synergistically enhancing their effect, but you need to pay close attention to 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. In short, every choice must be evaluated and shared together with a specialist, so as to be able to reap all the possible advantages, without risking unwanted health consequences. And without ever forgetting that the overall vision is decisive: still too many Italians, for example, underestimate the great danger linked to excess kilos and the metabolic syndrome, a pathology characterized by an increase in the circumference of the abdomen, arterial hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, reduced HDL good cholesterol levels and increased fasting blood sugar. If you have even only three out of five of these characteristics you will suffer from metabolic syndrome and the risk of cancer rises because a favorable microenvironment is created for cancer cells to develop and proliferate.