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Prostate cancer prevention: Ways to reduce your risk

Choose a healthy diet

There is some evidence that choosing a healthy diet that's low in fat and full of fruits and vegetables may contribute to a lower risk of prostate cancer, though research results have been mixed and this hasn't been proved concretely.

If you want to reduce your risk of prostate cancer, consider trying to:

  • Choose a low-fat diet. Foods that contain fats include meats, nuts, oils and dairy products, such as milk and cheese.

    In some studies, men who ate the highest amount of fat each day had an increased risk of prostate cancer. This doesn't prove that excess fat causes prostate cancer. Other studies haven't found this association. But reducing the amount of fat you eat each day has other proven benefits, such as helping you control your weight and helping your heart.

    To reduce the amount of fat you eat each day, limit fatty foods or choose low-fat varieties. For instance, reduce the amount of fat you add to foods when cooking, select leaner cuts of meat, and choose low-fat or reduced-fat dairy products.

  • Increase the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat each day. Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins and nutrients that are thought to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, though research hasn't proved that any particular nutrient is guaranteed to reduce your risk.

    Eating more fruits and vegetables also tends to make you have less room for other foods, such as high-fat foods.

    You might consider increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat each day by adding an additional serving of a fruit or vegetable to each meal. Consider eating fruits and vegetables for snacks.

  • Reduce the amount of dairy products you eat each day. In studies, men who ate the most dairy products — such as milk, cheese and yogurt — each day had the highest risk of prostate cancer. But study results have been mixed, and the risk associated with dairy products is thought to be small.