By Marta Corral | He prostate cancer was one of the most diagnosed tumors in the world last year and continues to be a great concern for doctors and citizens. It is estimated that it will affect 29,002 people in Spain during this 2023, according to the data from the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM). Fortunately, it is not one of the deadliest tumors because it spreads more slowly and early detection systems are effective. In countries with medium and high income, less than 10% of cases are in the metastatic phase.
Between the risk factor’s to develop prostate cancer is age -it is rare to be under 40-, race -less common among men of European descent-, family history, genetic changes, smoking, obesity and sexually transmitted infections, among others. In any case, food is considered an effective method of prevention. Now a step forward has been taken, realizing that those who eat foods rich in lycopene and selenium regularly have a healthier prostate.
The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of South Australia, concludes that dieting with these selected foods helps prevent this cancer. and speed up recovery among men who undergo radiotherapy for disease. His conclusions have been reflected in two published studies in the magazine cancerswhich highlights the importance of a Mediterranean or Asian-style diet, which includes fruits and vegetables in quantity.
Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory
The researchers compared the plasma micronutrient concentrations of prostate cancer patients with a healthy control group. Those who became ill had low levels of lutein, lycopenealpha-carotene and seleniumas well as high levels of iron, sulfur, and calcium. Increased DNA damage after radiation exposure from radiotherapy was also associated with low mineral levels and the antioxidant carotenoid in the blood plasma.
Men with plasma concentrations less than 0.25 micrograms per milliliter of lycopene or less than 120 micrograms of selenium have an increased risk of breast cancer prostate and are likely to be more sensitive to the damaging effects of radiation. Selenium, they point out, is “an essential mineral and has properties antioxidants“, being likely that” the increase in oxidative stress due to the generation of reactive oxygen species increases the adverse effects after radiotherapy and chemotherapeutic treatment of the disease.
They emphasize that “selenium supplementation in the diet can protect healthy tissues” based on data from 15 studies showing “encouraging results that provide evidence of an association of high blood selenium levels with a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer“. For its part, lycopene “plays an important protective role in the prevention“, inhibiting oxidative stress, apoptosis (cell death) and the inflammation.
“Blood lycopene levels are inversely associated with the risks of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and cancer, including prostate“, they remember in the study. “Administration of lycopene to newly diagnosed patients with this type of cancer, for three weeks twice a week, reduced the risk of disease and the cancer cell growth“. Thus, men with prostate adenocarcinoma who consumed 30 milligrams daily of tomato sauce Their scores improved.
two kinds of food
In addition to tomatoes, other foods rich in lycopene are the melons, papayas, grapes, peaches, watermelons and blueberries. For his part, stand out for their selenium content the white meats, fish, shellfish, eggs and nuts. Study co-author Permal Deo says a diet naturally rich in these two nutrients is more advisable than supplementation, because its benefits are more limited. “Our recommendation is to adopt a Mediterranean diet with the help of a dietitian because each person absorbs nutrients in a different way”, he observes.
Part of the motivation for the study is that nutritional deficiencies associated with prostate cancer remain largely unknown despite being one of the most common diseases. “There is strong evidence that being overweight and being tall increases the risk of prostate cancer, as does the diets high in dairy products and low in vitamin Ebut the evidence is less clear”, concludes Dr. Deo.
