Johns Hopkins Health Alerts | Prostate Disorders | Dietary Fat and Prostate Cancer

• A high intake of vegetables may lower the risk of prostate cancer.

The majority of studies on the relationship between dietary fat and prostate cancer have found that a higher fat intake is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Fat makes up 30% to 40% of the calories in the American diet, compared with 15% in Japan. These differences in fat intake may help explain the much lower death rate from prostate cancer in Japan, as well as the great variability in mortality rates around the world. Another possibility is that people who eat a high-fat diet are less likely to eat healthful foods such as vegetables.

A high intake of vegetables may lower the risk of prostate cancer. According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, men who ate 28 or more servings of vegetables a week had a 35% lower risk of prostate cancer than those who ate 14 or fewer servings per week.

Cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage and broccoli, appeared to provide a further protective effect against prostate cancer: Men who ate three or more servings of cruciferous vegetables a week (in addition to other vegetables) had a 41% lower risk of prostate cancer than those who ate less than one serving a week. Cruciferous vegetables are rich in substances that induce enzymes to detoxify environmental carcinogens, including the free radicals found in the human diet.

Moderate evidence suggests that other dietary components also may help prevent prostate cancer. High intakes of lycopene (an antioxidant found in tomatoes and tomato-based products) are associated with a 16% to 21% reduced risk of prostate cancer. Taking supplements of selenium (a trace element) reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 66% in one study, and another study found that the incidence of prostate cancer was reduced by 34% in men taking vitamin E supplements.

Johns Hopkins Health Alerts | Prostate Disorders | Dietary Fat and Prostate Cancer