Maintaining maximum prostate health is about both reducing your risk factors as well as providing your body with maximum immunity through preventative wellness. So if you want to get ahead in life, you’ll want to optimize your assets and limit your liabilities. The majority of the 10 Foundations of The Prostate Diet and 6 Pillars of Prostate Health are about optimizing specific components of your diet and lifestyle for maximum health. But it’s also just as important to limit your liabilities that can harm your health and your prostate. There are a number of foods and supplements that can harm your prostate including calcium, red meat, dairy, alcohol, sugar and many others as well as additives and preservatives in foods that can cause cancer.
Eating well and maintaining health is about what foods you choose to eat and what you choose to leave on the table. Here is a sample of foods to avoid:
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Fast Food: Generally, “fast food” means fried, high in fat, high in cholesterol, high in sugar, empty calories, low in fiber and devoid of phytonutrients |
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Meat and Prostate Cancer: Eating a lot of red and processed meats may increase your risk of prostate cancer, Studies have shown that men who ate the most red meat were 12 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer and 33 percent more likely to have advanced cancer than those who ate the least amount of red meat. Read more about meat and prostate cancer |
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Grilling and Prostate Cancer: Studies have shown that high intake of well-done meat and high exposure to carcinogens in meat, especially HCAs, may increase the risk of cancer, including prostate cancer. Read more about grilling and prostate cancer |
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Calcium, Dairy Foods and Prostate Cancer: The American Cancer Society notes that there is evidence that high intake of calcium, mainly through supplements and dairy products, has been linked with a greater risk of prostate cancer, especially aggressive cancer. Read more about calcium, dairy and prostate cancer |
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Supplements that may Cause Cancer: A few studies have indicated that taking certain supplements may lead to an increased risk of prostate cancer. More on Supplements to Avoid |
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Sugar and Cancer: There is a school of thought that sugar fuels cancer cell growth. In addition, how safe are more natural sweeteners? Read more about sugar and cancer |
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Alcohol: Regular heavy drinking can put you at twice the risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer. (Gong 2009) Read more about alcohol |
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Foods Containing Acrylamide: Large doses of acrylamide have been shown to cause neurological damage in humans and French fries and potato chips are by far the biggest culprits. Acrylamide has also been associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer. Read more about foods containing acrylamide |
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French fries and potato chips: Deep fried potatoes and potato chips are laden with saturated fat. Potatoes also contain an amino acid called asparagine, which when heated to more than 248 degrees Fahrenheit (as in frying and baking) can form acrylamide, a substance that has been determined to be a “probable human carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, based on studies in lab animals. (Fuhr 2006) French fries and potato chips are not the only foods that contain acrylamide, but they are the most common and have high levels. Another food group that contains relatively high levels of acrylamide is baked goods, especially doughnuts. See also Cancer Causing Food Additives |
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Doughnuts: Doughnuts are full of fat, sugar, and acrylamide, a “probable carcinogen”. |
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Canned tomatoes and tomato products: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A (BPA), a synthetic estrogen that can leach into the tomatoes because they are acidic. BPA is associated with an increased risk of cancer and other health problems. |
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Microwave popcorn: The lining of the bags in which microwave popcorn is popped contains chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) that may be associated with infertility in humans. The chemicals have also been linked to cancer in lab animals. Because PFOA accumulates in the body, scientists worry that the chemical may reach a cancer-causing level in people who are exposed to it for too long. The makers of PFOA have promised to stop producing the chemical by 2015. |
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Nonorganic potatoes: Potatoes are exposed to several doses of poisons. They absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides from the soil, they are treated with fungicides while they are growing, the vines are sprayed with herbicides before harvest, and then once the potatoes are dug up, they are treated again to prevent them from sprouting. You cannot wash away the chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh of the potato. The only safe solution is to buy organic potatoes. More on pesticide contamination in food |
Other foods and items to avoid include:
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Fruits and vegetables that have been exposed to pesticides (see list of most contaminated fruits and vegetables) |
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Trans fats |
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Excess caffeine |
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Saturated Fats |
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Omega 6 Fatty Acids |
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Refined/processed foods |
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Atkins diet |
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Fried Foods |
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Charred meats |
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Animal products that contain hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides (nonorganic meat and dairy foods) |
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Artificial colors |
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Artificial sweeteners |
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Artificial flavors |
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Protein supplements |
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Soda |
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Protein bars |
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McDonalds |
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Soy sauce |
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Protein powders |
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Foods that have been exposed to BPA (bisphenol A, found in plastics, food cans) |
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Foods that have been exposed to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other environmental chemicals |
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Excessive multivitamin/mineral use (“mega-dosing”) |
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Foods that contain cancer causing food additives |
See also
46 Things To Avoid for Prostate Health
101 Ways To Love Your Prostate
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