Eat Plants, Beat Cancer
By UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SAN
FRANCISCO
A study of more than 2,000 men with localized
prostate cancer found that eating a primarily plant-based diet was associated
with a 47% lower risk that their cancer would progress, compared with those who
consumed the most animal products.
This amounted to eating just one or two more
servings per day of healthy foods, particularly vegetables, fruits, and whole
grains, while eating fewer animal products, like dairy and meat. The study
followed the men, whose median age was 65 years old, over time to see how
dietary factors affected the progression of their cancer.
Plant-based diets include fruits, vegetables,
whole grains, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils, tea and coffee. The researchers
measured consumption using a plant-based index and compared the men who scored
in the highest 20% to those who scored in the lowest 20%.
“These results could guide people to make better, more healthful choices across their whole diet, rather than adding or removing select foods,” said Vivian N. Liu, formerly lead clinical research coordinator at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health and first author of the study, which appears in JAMA Network Open.
“Progressing to advanced disease is one of
many pivotal concerns among patients with prostate cancer, their family,
caregivers, and physicians,” she said. “This adds to numerous other health
benefits associated with consuming a primarily plant-based diet, such as a
reduction in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
overall mortality.”
Antioxidants and
anti-inflammatory compounds
Plant-based diets are becoming increasingly
popular in the United States, and evidence is accumulating that they can be
beneficial to patients with prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men
in the country after non-melanoma skin cancer.
Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants,
as well as anti-inflammatory compounds that have been shown to protect against
prostate cancer, and prior research has consistently demonstrated the
importance of dietary factors to overall health and well-being.
“Making small changes in one’s diet each day
is beneficial,” said senior author Stacey A. Kenfield, ScD, a UCSF professor of
urology and the Helen Diller Family Chair in Population Science for Urologic
Cancer. “Greater consumption of plant-based food after a prostate cancer
diagnosis has also recently been associated with better quality of life,
including sexual function, urinary function, and vitality, so it’s a win-win on
both levels.”
Reference: “Plant-Based Diets and Disease
Progression in Men With Prostate Cancer” by Vivian N. Liu, Erin L. Van
Blarigan, Li Zhang, Rebecca E. Graff, Stacy Loeb, Crystal S. Langlais, Janet E.
Cowan, Peter R. Carroll, June M. Chan and Stacey A. Kenfield, 1 May 2024, JAMA Network Open.
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.9053
