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Author:
Jonathon Hardcastle

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among American men. Thus, it always a good time to learn about prostate health , a subject all men should address with their physicians before having to deal with it while sitting in the patient's chair.

The prostate is a male sex gland located just under the bladder and in front of the rectum. Prostate is responsible for making semen, the thick fluid that mixes with sperm and helps to push it through the urethra and penis during sex. As men age, their prostates may enlarge and cause symptoms such as a slow stream or increased frequency of urination in a benign process called benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). However, in other cases, they may develop prostate cancer. For example, researchers support that a 50-year-old man who is expected to live another 25 years has a 42% chance of getting prostate cancer before he dies. Whether or not he develops prostate cancer, he will most likely die from an unrelated cause. He will have had no symptoms, and his prostate cancer will only be visible through a microscope at the time of his death. The risk to any healthy man of developing symptoms related to prostate cancer at any time during his life is only 10%, and his risk of actually dying from prostate cancer is only 3%. That said, screening for prostate cancer is still very important. Early detection and treatment of prostate cancer may delay or prevent tumor enlargement, metastasis (spread), and death.

While almost all men develop "silent" or latent prostate cancer cells if they live long enough, some lifestyle factors can increase a man's risk. Several studies have shown that being significantly overweight may promote the development of a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. In one recent study, those men who had gained more than 3.5 pounds a year between the ages of 25 and 40 were twice as likely to have this cancer recur as men who gained less weight. Also, excess body fat that is located in and around internal organs and often indicated by more waistline fat may pose particular risks, even if a man is not obese. In a recent study, men with prostate cancer averaged about 50% more total abdominal fat than healthy men of the same age.

But, doctors assess that with proper diet, exercise and early detection, there is hope against this disease. Statistics reveal that in more than 1.8 million men, only in United States, have beaten prostate cancer. Studies have shown that prostate health depends on a plant-based diet low in fat and rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Patients who have been researched were found to fight prostate cancer by eating specific types of foods that had protective compounds for good prostate health. In fact, several foods, such as tomatoes, although the F.D.A. has issued an announcement that there is no particular evidence for this vegetable's ability to fight prostate cancer, nuts, cruciferous vegetables, onions, and spinach have shown some promise with this disease. Finally, herbs and nutrients such as green tea extract, stinging nettle root, ginger, rosemary, zinc, lycopene, and selenium have also been shown to help maintain and promote normal prostate health.

About the Author :

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Men's Health, Arts, and Society


Article Source: www.iSnare.com

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A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to The Prostate... The Truth About Prostate Cancer Warning Signs Prostate cancer warning signs... Every man should be concerned about their prostate's health. Indeed, for men not paying attention to it, it can be deadly as prostate cancer comes second only to lung cancer with respect to cancer-caused deaths for American men...and is near the top for Canadian men as well. Prostate cancer is also the most common type of cancer for men in the United States. Tens of thousands of new cases are diagnosed yearly. Although there is most likely a hereditary component to your chances of getting prostate cancer, like many things in life, a lot of it comes down to choices you make, such as taking quality prostate health promoting supplements and eating food for good prostate health. Prostate cancer warning signs Although the aforementioned prostate statistics don't seem to be good, the truth of the matter is that if prostate cancer is detected early, treatments are often very successful and chances of surviving are very high. Therefore, one of the best things you can do other than take the necessary supplement and dietary steps to promote good prostate health is to have what is called a PSA test (prostate specific antigen tests) done every year. It doesn't take long and it's not painful so don't put it off. The drawback of the PSA test is that it isn't perfect in what it reveals. Now, what about prostate cancer warning signs? Well, unfortunately, prostate cancer does not really give off any warning signs. In addition, another confusing aspect is that most of the possible warning signs, if they appear, are also the same signs for other prostate health problems that are non-cancerous in nature, such as BPH, which is called an enlarged prostate gland. However, these signs are still worth mentioning. The following are some potential...