For some years now there has been considerable discussion about prostate cancer and the subject of prostate cancer prevention specifically is still rather controversial. Even though, as with most cancers, men do not themselves cause the onset of prostate cancer, there are clearly several risk factors for developing the disease and there is much that can be done, if not to actually prevent it, then certainly to lessen the risk of developing it.
The first step in prostate cancer prevention is simply to understand that you are at risk of getting the disease and to understand precisely why you are at risk.
There is no question that men who have a family history of prostate cancer are at higher risk and that the risk for somebody with a close relative suffering from prostate cancer is approximately twice that of somebody without any family history. If you have two close relatives then this risk rises to around five times that of someone with no family history and if you have three close relatives your risk reaches a staggering ninety-seven percent.
The difficulties here is that many men do not know their family history, frequently because many grandfathers, fathers or brothers have died as a result of other illnesses without ever knowing they had prostate cancer. This occurs because prostate cancer will frequently develop late in life and can be a very slow growing cancer. As a result there is a fair chance that individuals will develop other conditions at the same time as their prostate cancer and it is these other conditions which ultimately result in their death.
Accordingly, if you do not know your family history, then a good point at which to start is to check things out if at all possible. If it is not possible, then it is probably best to err on the side of caution and to believe that the risk could be there rather than simply assume that you are in the clear.
The next important factor is that of race. For example, African American men are at greater risk than Hispanic men who, in turn, are at greater risk than Caucasian men. The risk for an African American man is about sixty percent greater than that of a Caucasian man.
Another risk factor is diet and men who are living in Western countries such as the the US or the UK are at increased risk because of the high fat levels in many Western diets. Here for the first time is a risk factor which you can actually do something about and reducing the fat in your diet and eating such things as more fresh fruit and vegetables can lessen your risk quite considerably.
At this point we start to run into difficulty because, beyond the basic principle of lowering fat levels in your diet, views begin to differ when it comes to looking at other aspects of the diet which may be helpful in prostate cancer prevention.
There is little doubt that levels of such things as vitamins and minerals in your diet can have a significant affect on your general health and will certainly have a part to play when it comes to prostate health. However, working out precisely which vitamins and minerals play a part is a difficult matter and is a subject all of its own.