While many men elect to use plant-based substances to manage symptoms of prostate disease such as BPH, the science on phytotherapy is inconclusive and sometimes contradictory.
Phytotherapy -- the use of herbs or other plant-based products to prevent or treat a health condition -- is popular among men with prostate problems. In fact, a study reported in Urology found that one third of prostate cancer patients had used some form of alternative or complementary medicine: vitamin or mineral supplements, herbs, antioxidants, or supplements promoted for "prostate health.”
Phytotherapy for prostate problems encompasses a wide range of approaches. At one end of the spectrum are healthful foods like tomatoes, cooked tomato products, and pomegranates, for which there is some evidence of protection against prostate cancer. Processed nutritional supplements like saw palmetto are next, providing concentrated amounts of plant components. Products in the third category, raw herbs, undergo the least scrutiny for content and purity. Therefore they pose the greatest risk of potential contamination and toxicity.
It's hard to go wrong by eating reasonable amounts of prostate healthy foods. But solid research into the benefits and potential risks of these remedies is scarce, and the available evidence is often contradictory.
For example, a new analysis from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) suggests that overall diet has little effect on prostate cancer risk. More than 50,000 men have participated in HPFS since 1986, when it began to explore the links between diet and various diseases.
The current analysis, reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention (Volume 15, page 167), examined the diets of 3,002 men who had developed prostate cancer by the year 2000. Researchers characterized their diets as "western” or "prudent.” The western diet was one higher in meats, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products. The prudent diet emphasized fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and poultry.
In general, the study showed no association between mens' dietary patterns and their overall prostate cancer risk or diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer. Among men age 65 or older, there was a modest association between a western diet and advanced prostate cancer, linked primarily to eating processed meats. This is not the last word on diet and prostate cancer. Other research has shown links between prostate cancer risk and various dietary components. Plus, the prudent diet is a good idea for its many other benefits.
