Diet for prostate cancer: nutrition principles, healthy and forbidden foods, sample menu

A prostate tumor often appears in people who have reached middle or old age. It can develop for a long time. There are different ways to deal with the disease. Treatment involves surgery, radiation therapy, drugs. A diet for prostate cancer is also of great importance.

The Importance of a Proper Diet

A prostate tumor develops under the influence of various causes. Among the factors that provoke the disease, you can name:

• Hormone imbalance.
• Heredity.
• Elderly age.
• Bad environmental conditions.
• Work with chemicals.
• Benign neoplasms of the prostate.
• Exposure to harmful radiation.
• Smoking, alcohol abuse.

• Wrong diet.

The disease is often found among residents of North America, the former USSR and Western Europe. In these states, people eat a lot of fast food, meat and dairy products. For the inhabitants of the Mediterranean, on the contrary, such a disease is rare. This fact is explained by the fact that fish, vegetables, fruits and berries predominate in their diet. Such information allows us to conclude that nutrition plays a significant role in the formation of tumors. Diet for prostate cancer is an important component of therapy. A well-composed diet helps to reduce the likelihood of the spread of the pathological process.

General recommendations

Patients suffering from a malignant tumor of the prostate should be aware of these rules:

• It is necessary to include lean fish and seafood in the diet. The composition of this food includes lipids, which are easily absorbed.
• Refuse animal fats, margarine, fast food.

• Eat plenty of fruits, berries, kernels of nuts and vegetables fresh.
• Take supplements containing vitamins of groups B, E and C, folic acid.
• Refuse drinks that include caffeine. Drink green tea.
• Avoid foods containing artificial additives.

Why does the patient need to change the diet?

Diet for prostate cancer aims to achieve the following goals:

• Decreased activity of abnormal cells.
• Quick recovery of the body after sessions of radiation therapy, surgery, taking heavy medications.

• Improving the functioning of the immune system.
• Maintaining well-being.
• Prevention of neoplasm growth.

Diet for prostate cancer is a specialist. When choosing a diet, factors such as the age category, features of the prescribed therapy, and the stage of development of the pathological process are taken into account. The doctor should give the necessary recommendations immediately after confirming the diagnosis. After all, if a person eats improperly, his condition will deteriorate significantly, and treatment will not lead to the desired result.

Foods to Avoid

An unbalanced diet does not necessarily lead to the development of cancer. However, the patient should remember that the diet after prostate cancer should not be short-term, but permanent. If you do not change your eating habits once and for all, the disease can return again, despite the treatment. The patient's diet at any stage of the pathology, during and after therapy, involves the exclusion of the following products:

1. Pastes, sausages and sausages, instant food, canned food.
2. Fatty meats, bacon, lard.
3. Margarine.
4. Confectionery (cakes, pastries, gingerbread cookies, cookies, waffles and so on).
5. Marinades and pickles.
6. Fried foods.
7. Sparkling water, black tea, caffeinated drinks.
8. Chocolate, sweets.
9. Flaxseed oil and corn kernels.
10. Alcoholic products (during the period of remission, red wine is allowed in small quantities).

To restore the body after therapy and reduce the likelihood of complications, you must adhere to the restrictions indicated in the diet. The table for prostate cancer is indicated by number 5. Such a diet involves a minimum amount of salt and lipids.

What foods are good for patients?

However, too severe dietary restrictions for patients are undesirable. Moreover, for quick recovery, the body needs certain vitamins and minerals. Patients are advised to include such foods in the diet:

• Dishes from fish and poultry of lean varieties. It is useful to eat sardines, pink salmon, mackerel, which include fatty acids.
• Tomato dishes. This product contains substances that prevent the development of cancer pathologies.

• All varieties of cabbage (white, red, cauliflower, broccoli).
• Olive oil, which includes vitamin E. It should be used as a salad dressing.
• Carrot dishes. This vegetable contains carotene, accelerating the recovery process of the patient's body.
• Kernels They include beneficial lipids.
• Parsley, dill, lettuce.
• Low-fat dairy foods (cottage cheese, yogurt, milk). The composition of such products includes proteins that are also necessary for the patient.
• Grape juice or red wine that contains substances that inhibit the development of tumors.
• Mushroom dishes.
• Dishes from cereals, bran.
• Green tea (it contains antioxidants).
• Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, grapefruits, tangerines), as well as mangoes. Such fruits are rich in vitamin C. It has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the immune system.

Nutrition rules for the second stage of the disease

The diet in this case should be designed in such a way as to reduce the activity of pathological cells and prevent the risk of metastases. If the patient does not adhere to the necessary advice, his condition worsens sharply. Diet for prostate cancer of the 2nd degree is based on the following rules:

1. Refuse pork and replace it with lean fish, chicken, rabbit or turkey.
2. Include fresh vegetables and fruits in your daily diet.
3. As drinks, herbal teas, fruit drinks from berries or fruits are recommended.
4. You should completely abandon caffeine.

Features of the diet in the third stage of the disease

In this situation, the patient will not be able to completely defeat the pathology. However, it is necessary to reduce the severity of the consequences of the disease. A diet for grade 3 prostate cancer is made taking into account the particular course of therapy that a man is taking.

The menu is based on the following principles:

1. The use of foods containing a lot of vitamin A, E, C.
2. The inclusion in the daily diet of vegetables, fruits, fresh berries, lean fish, chicken or turkey.
3. It is useful to add vegetable oil to dishes.
4. In the morning you should eat whole grain dishes.
5. Eat enough fermented milk products with a minimum fat content.
6. If there is an increased concentration of calcium in the blood, you need to limit the food that contains this substance.
7. From drinks should be preferred compotes, herbal teas and fruit drinks prepared at home.

How to eat with the fourth stage of pathology?

This stage of the development of a cancerous tumor is considered the most difficult. The patient's body becomes sensitive and responds even to minor changes. The specialist must very carefully choose a diet for such patients. A diet for grade 4 prostate cancer is based on the following principles:

1. A balanced and varied diet.
2. Minimum carbohydrates in the diet.
3. Eating enough fish, fresh vegetables and fruits.
4. The frequency of meals - at least 5 times a day, in small volumes.
5. You should not overeat, especially in the evening.
6. As a side dish, vegetable dishes are recommended.
7. From drinks, one should give preference to decoctions of herbs, rosehip berries, weakly brewed tea with mint leaves.
8. Limited use of salt, dairy products.
9. In the presence of diarrhea, which often occurs during chemotherapy, you should eat boiled rice and include more protein-rich foods in your diet.

If the patient's health worsens during the diet, he is not recommended to adjust it on his own. You must first consult a doctor. Vitamin supplements should also not be taken without the permission of a specialist.

Features of nutrition during chemotherapy

Against the background of treatment, patients are faced with such unpleasant phenomena as a loss of appetite, a taste of metal in the mouth. In addition, medications provoke attacks of vomiting, loose stools. Diet for prostate cancer during the course of chemotherapy involves the use of acidic fruit drinks and juices. Such drinks improve the digestive tract, increase appetite. In addition, honey, sweet-tasting fruits, dried fruits, and low-fat milk shakes should be included in the diet. On the day of taking the medication, the patient should consume a sufficient amount of liquid and dishes, which include proteins.

Proper nutrition during treatment with hormonal drugs

Means of this kind are often recommended to patients to reduce the likelihood of growth of the neoplasm. Medications reduce testosterone production. Diet for prostate cancer during hormone therapy involves the rejection of milk and red meat, as this food enhances the production of this substance. The patient is recommended to consume more greens, fruits, berries, kernels of nuts, salads.

Products containing selenium and B vitamins should be included in the diet. Special supplements should be taken as prescribed by the doctor.

Diet during radiation therapy

This treatment can lead to increased urine output. In the event of such a side effect, the following types of food should be excluded:

1. Cheese, cottage cheese, meat and other products containing a large amount of protein.
2. Foods made from wheat flour and food, which includes starch.
3. Fatty dishes, canned food, pickles, smoked meats and seasonings.
4. Spinach, horseradish, garlic, onion.
5. Radish, radish, sorrel.
6. Soups based on fish, meat, poultry and mushrooms.
7. Alcohol-containing products.
8. Dishes, which include a large amount of sugar.

Should be included in the diet:

1. Mineral water recommended by the doctor.
2. Juices and stewed fruit with a non-sour taste.
3. Fruit drinks made from blueberries, blueberries, lingonberries.
4. Poorly brewed tea.
5. Whole Grain Dishes.
6. Melons and watermelons.
7. Fresh vegetables and fruits.
8. Decoctions of herbs.

Diet after surgery

Removal of a neoplasm is an important component of the treatment of patients with a malignant tumor. Proper nutrition during the rehabilitation period helps the patient not only recover quickly, but also prevent the recurrence of the disease. The diet after surgery for prostate cancer consists in the use of such products:

1. Green tea.
2. Olive oil.
3. Cabbage of all kinds.
4. Turnip.
5. Seafood.
6. Radish.
7. Swede.
8. Vegetables and fruits containing iron and vitamin C. They help restore lost blood, improve the functioning of the immune system.

Do I need to adjust my diet during recovery from prostate cancer? The diet recommended by experts should be based on a Mediterranean diet.

It consists in the use of a sufficient amount of cereal foods, fish dishes, vegetables and fruits, vegetable lipids (olive oil, walnut kernels). Red meat, butter, dairy products should be limited.

Approximate daily diet

This sample menu is designed by specialists. The patient can slightly change it to his liking. The important thing is not to violate the prohibitions. Only authorized foods for prostate cancer should be present in the diet.

In the morning, dried fruits or kernels of nuts with juice, compote or water are recommended. A little later, you can eat cereal and tea or steamed rice cereal and a fish cutlet.

During the day, the first course is based on vegetables or beans. As a drink, use a decoction of herbs. The second recommended fish with herbs and salad.

An afternoon snack consists of a fermented milk product with low fat content in an amount of 150 g. You can replace it with juice with biscuits or a handful of dried fruits with tea.

In the evening, you should eat stewed vegetables and boiled chicken. In addition, a compote with crackers is recommended for dinner.

The diet after removal of the prostate in cancer, as well as the correct diet during the period of drug use, is an important condition for quick recovery and a better effect from treatment courses. We should not forget that the use of healthy foods helps to avoid relapse and prolong the patient's life, even in the later stages of the disease.