7 Tips to Keep Your Prostate Healthy
- Category: Community Newsletter
- Posted On:
- Written By: Brad Lake, MD
One of the most common questions urologists hear is “How can I keep my prostate healthy?”
A good place to start is to maintain a balanced, healthy diet, and to stay active with regular exercise. You should also add a little sunshine to your day in order to get plenty of Vitamin D.
Here are 7 lifestyle changes to help maintain your prostate health.
1. Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Leafy, green vegetables are full of important vitamins and antioxidants.
2. Choose whole-grain bread instead of white bread. Add whole-grain pasta and cereal to your diet as well.
3. Limit your consumption of red meat, like beef, and processed meats like hot dogs. Fish, poultry, beans and eggs are good choices for protein.
4. Limit saturated fats and avoid hydrogenated fats that are found in many fast foods and packaged meals. Choose healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and avocados.
5. Avoid sugar-sweetened sodas and juices.
6. Cut down on salt. Limit the use of canned, processed and frozen foods.
7. Limit your portion sizes. Visit Healthy Gov for dietary guidelines.
And, don’t forget to have a prostate cancer screening. If you’re in a high-risk group (African-American, Scandinavian or have 2 or more family members diagnosed with prostate cancer), you’re encouraged to get your first screening at age 40. Men who are at normal risk should get screened beginning at age 55.
