Healthy Living: Movember and prostate health

NOVEMBER is known as “Movember” since 2003, when a charity started to bring the importance of talking about men’s health to our attention. While women are great at looking out for their health, reading about health issues, and getting regular check-ups - men tend to keep their problems to themselves, unless they have "man flu" of course... It is of the utmost importance for everyone to get regular check-ups and blood tests to intervene with more serious illnesses in time.

It is especially true for conditions that might progress insidiously, not causing many symptoms, tend to be just a bit of a nuisance at the beginning: a bit of an urgency, maybe waking at night to go to the toilet, a bit of a weaker stream or harder to start than normal, nothing special - you might think. But these symptoms could be the early signs for Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH), chronic inflammation, or even malignant changes of the prostate gland.

In fact, 50% of men are experiencing some problems with their prostate gland by the age of fifty, and that percentage doubles at the age of 80. Early intervention or better yet - prevention is the key. Once men pass the age of 30, an increased production of an enzyme, 5-α-reductase changes testosterone to a more aggressive form; Di-hydroxy-testosterone (DHT) which starts to encourage the prostate to grow.

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Luckily, there are foods and nutrients that can inhibit this enzyme that may prevent the problem, if caught in time. Research shows that a wholesome diet very low in animal produce and high in vegetarian protein - especially legumes (beans, lentils, soy), nuts and seeds and packed full of vibrant coloured vegetables may greatly reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. In a 6‐ year study of more than 14,000 Seventh Day Adventist US men, those with the highest intakes of legumes (beans, lentils) had a significantly lower risk of prostate cancer. More recently, a study of more than 58,000 men in the Netherlands found that those with the highest intakes of legumes had a risk of prostate cancer that was 29% lower than those with the lowest intakes.

Eating whole soy products (tofu, tempeh, soy yoghurt) regularly or taking beta‐sitosterol (soy extract) supplements may significantly improve urinary symptoms, increases maximum urinary flow in patients with BPH, maybe due to its anti‐proliferative and growth inhibiting factors.

Additionally, beta‐sitosterol might inhibit 5‐alpha‐reductase activity, which showed to slow rising serum PSA (prostate specific antigen) concentrations associated with prostate tumour growth in two studies of prostate cancer patients.

Zinc is also involved in suppression of 5-α-reductase enzyme, thus helps to decrease the more aggressive testosterone levels, and Vitamin B6 can potentiate the effect of this wonder mineral. Zinc rich foods include fish, seafood, pecans, and pumpkin seeds. Epidemiological research suggests that increased dietary Lycopene intake from foods such as tomato products is associated with a lower risk of developing, while daily intake might delay or prevent progression of prostate cancer.