Impact of diet and exercise
There are many ways you can positively influence your health. Lifestyle choices, such as diet, exercise, and smoking or drinking, are influenced by habit, culture, and preferences and are different for each individual. Every day the foods you choose to eat and the amount of physical activity you get can impact your overall health as well as your prostate cancer risk, recovery, and survival.
Physical activity can improve your physical and emotional health. It is important for managing weight, maintaining muscle, reducing your risk of heart disease, and keeping bones strong. Staying active can help with balance, improve your sleep, and reduce fatigue and anxiety. Exercise can also help with potential side effects of prostate cancer treatment.
The link between exercise, prostate cancer and treatment
Studies have found that men who get regular physical activity have a slightly lower risk of prostate cancer. Vigorous activity may have a greater effect, especially on the risk of advanced prostate cancer. Also, in men with prostate cancer, physical activity is associated with better survival, and a modest amount of vigorous activity, about three hours a week, may substantially improve prostate cancer survival.
Many treatments for prostate cancer can have detrimental effects on your body. Hormone therapy can lead to osteoporosis and loss of muscle mass, both of which can be improved through exercise and strength training. Other treatments, such as surgery, can cause urinary incontinence (inability to control urine flow). Kegel exercises before and after prostate cancer treatment strengthen the pelvic-floor muscles, which can improve incontinence.
Any plan for physical activity should fit your personal situation and fitness level. Talk with your medical team before starting any exercise regimen.
Diet and exercise recommendations
A good starting point if you are contemplating diet and exercise changes is the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) recommendations. To prevent cancer and to improve long-term survival in cancer survivors, AICR advises people to:
- Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
- Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day, including activities such as walking, dancing, or participating in sports.
- Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods, particularly processed foods high in added sugar, low in fiber, or high in fat.
- Eat a greater variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.
- Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork, and lamb), and avoid processed meats (such as ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and salami).
- Limit alcoholic drinks, if you consume them at all, to two per day for men (and one per day for women).
- Limit consumption of salty foods.
- Don’t rely on supplements to prevent or protect against cancer.
Diet and supplements
Eating well is important before, during, and after treatment for prostate cancer. It can help you feel better, have more energy, keep up your strength, and lower your risk of infection. It can also help you prepare for surgery and speed your recovery after cancer treatment, and it may help keep your cancer from coming back.
SCCA offers consultation with a nutritionist for all of our patients undergoing treatment. A nutritionist can recommend food choices to help with treatment side effects (like fatigue, nausea, and changes in sense of smell or taste); discuss diet variations (like plant-based diets, anti-inflammatory diets, and whole-food diets); and work with you on an individualized plan that optimizes your health and addresses specific goals (like bone health, blood-sugar control, and weight loss or gain).
While the exact role of diet in prostate cancer is not clear, researchers have studied several factors, and they continue to look for more specific associations between diet and prostate cancer. Many of the foods thought to lower the risk for and improve survival after prostate cancer are foods of plant origin. Men who eat a lot of red meat or high-fat dairy products and fewer fruits and vegetables appear to have a slightly higher risk of prostate cancer. Some studies have suggested that men who consume a lot of calcium (through food or supplements) may have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer; however, most studies have not found such a link with the levels of calcium found in the average diet, and it's important to note that calcium is known to have other important health benefits.
For optimal health, nutritionists at SCCA recommend eating a mostly plant-based diet and including moderate amounts of foods of animal origin. Some of the many foods and nutrients showing associations with prostate cancer risk and survival are listed below.