What can you do to prevent benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH? A recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (Volume 167, page 925) suggests that diet, not dietary supplements, has the greatest impact on the development of BPH.
BPH is the noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland due to an increase in the number of prostate cells. What triggers BPH is not well understood, but aging and testosterone are believed to be the primary influences on its development. Animal studies suggest that the female sex hormone estrogen (produced in small amounts in men) also may play a role, perhaps when a man’s testosterone production declines and the balance of the two hormones is altered.
Taking dietary supplements has less impact on a man’s risk of developing BPH than does his overall eating pattern, according to an analysis of a subset of men who participated in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT).
The researchers studied 4,770 men who were in the placebo group in the PCPT and were free of BPH at the study’s outset. The men were monitored for the development of BPH over the seven years of the study and filled out a 15-page diet and supplement questionnaire a year into the trial. The questionnaire addressed the men’s typical consumption of various types of food and beverages, including alcohol. It also documented their use of antioxidant supplements (like vitamin E or selenium) and other supplements such as vitamin D and fish oil.
There was no association between the use of antioxidant supplements and the development of BPH and only limited evidence for a beneficial effect of lycopene, zinc, or vitamin D. However, the risk of developing BPH was lower among men who followed diets high in protein and vegetables and low in total fat and red meat and who regularly consumed alcohol (two or more drinks per day).
The bottom line: If you want to reduce your risk of BPH, eating a healthy diet is more likely to help than taking dietary supplements.
