Many herbs and foods serve as powerful prostate protectors that significantly reduce the risk for prostate disorders. These nutritious “super” pro-prostate foods contain various phytochemicals, minerals, and natural molecules that can keep your over-worked and exhausted prostate functioning at peak performance much longer.

Herb & Mineral Supplementation Benefits

• Cruciferous Vegetables - Caulifolower, Broccoli, and Brussel Sprouts are popular vegetables that contain phytochemicals that are known to fight tumors. Studies show that these cruciferous vegetables can lower the amount of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA). You can consume and absorb most critical nutrients and minerals best by steaming them.

• Lycopene from Tomatoes - Lycopene may be able to inhibit the growth of prostate tumors, according to a study by Dutch and German researchers. Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene.

• Green Tea - Offers 51 anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, with critical anti-aging and prostate-specific health benefits. Possibly, catechins (strong antioxidants) prevent the spread of tumors. Clinical trials on humans are yet to be published.

• Saw Palmetto - The most researched, effective herb for prostate health in its purest, solvent-free supercritical extract form. Many researchers are working to dissect the mechanism that involves how Saw Palmetto combats Benigh Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and Prostate Enlargement.

• Urtica Dioica - The extracts from this provide the fullest spectrum of anti-inflammatory prostate-specific phytonutrients with clinical benefits demonstrated in conjunction with saw palmetto.

• Ginger - Nature's richest herbal source of 5-LO inhibitors (24 phytonutrient inhibitors), according to the USDA and major university phytochemical databases.

• Selenium - A probiotic trace nutrient critical to tissue detoxification and long term prostate health. Rosemary contains numerous anti-aging constituents and significant 5-LO inhibitors.

• Stinging Nettle Root - Contains chemicals that may prevent or delay the growth of prostate cancer cells by interfering with an enzyme involved in hormone conversion.

• Pygeum Extract - Taken with saw palmetto, it improves urine flow and prostate health.

• Beta Sitosterol - Inhibits the action of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, which converts testosterone into DHT -- one of the main factors contributing to prostate problems.

• Pomegranate - Has been shown in university studies to slow the growth of prostate cancer.

• Pumpkin Seed Extract - Interrupts the triggering of prostate cell multiplication by testosterone and DHT.

• Soy Isoflavone - Intake, as red clover extract, is associated with a decreased risk of localized prostate cancer.

Meats

Canadian researches have confirmed that a diet that includes a lot of red meat increases the risk of getting prostate cancer. A comparative study among 80 men with prostate cancer and 334 healthy men with a diet of red and organ meats demonstrated that the men more than doubled their risk of developing prostate cancer.

Present evidence suggests that the protective effects of fruit and vegetables outweigh the adverse effects of red meat in the development of cancer. It would be a decent alternative to look at meat as something only to be added to dishes mostly made up of vegetables and grains, as Asians are known to do. Cooking meat with high temperatures or conditions that cause it to char will form cancer-causing compounds known as carcinogens that should really be avoided.

Fruits and Vegetables

It is suggested to have at least seven serving of fruit and vegetables each day. Research has shown that phytochemicals (i.e. chemicals in the plants) play vital roles in nutrition, in addition to the benefits of fiber, minerals and vitamins. A range of anti-oxidants in fruits can reinforce the effect of vitamins. Lycopene, the carotenoid found in tomatoes, is probably preventive of prostate cancer.

Eating the whole fruit or vegetable is significantly more beneficial than just supplementing your diet with lycopene. Tomatoes cooked with olive oil, such as in spaghetti sauce, are said to be the most beneficial. From the results of studies it was determined that the intake of fruit did not significantly affect prostate cancer risk.

When limiting the analysis to cruciferous vegetables, only the protective effects were noticeably more pronounced. Men who ate three or more servings of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage, etc…) per week had a 41% lower risk of developing prostate cancer than men who ate less than one serving a week.