For many years now there has been considerable debate about prostate cancer and the subject of preventing prostate cancer in particular is still to some extent controversial. Although, as with many cancers, men are not themselves the cause of the onset of prostate cancer, there are clearly several risk factors for developing the disease and there is a great deal that can be done, if not to actually prevent it, then without doubt to reduce your risk of developing it.
The first step in prostate cancer prevention is to understand that you are at risk of getting the disease and to understand just what the different risk factors are.
There can be no doubt that men with a family history of prostate cancer are at greater risk and that the risk for somebody with a close relative having the condition is about twice that of somebody without any family history. If you have two close relatives then this risk increases to around five times that of someone without any family history and if you have three close relatives your risk reaches an almost incredible ninety-seven percent.
One problem here is that many men are not aware of their family history, frequently because many grandfathers, fathers or brothers have died as a result of other illnesses without ever knowing they were suffering from prostate cancer. This occurs because prostate cancer frequently develops late in life and can be a very slow growing cancer. As a result there is a very good chance of individuals developing other conditions at the same time as their prostate cancer and it is these other conditions which ultimately result in their death.
So, if you are uncertain about your family history, then a good starting point is to check things out if you can. If it is not possible to do this, then it is probably a good idea to err on the side of caution and believe that you could be at risk rather than assume that you are in the clear.
Another important factor is that of race. For instance, African American men are at more risk than Hispanic men who, in turn, are at higher risk than Caucasian men. The risk for an African American man is roughly sixty percent greater than that for a Caucasian man.
Another risk factor is diet and men living in Western countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom are at greater risk as a result of the high levels of fat in many Western diets. Here for the first time is a risk factor that you can actually do something about and reducing the fat in your diet and eating such things as more vegetables and fresh fruit can lessen your risk quite considerably.
At this point we begin to get into difficulty because, after the principle of reducing fat levels in your diet, opinions start to differ when it comes to looking at other areas of the diet that could be helpful in preventing prostate cancer.
There is little doubt that levels of such things as minerals and vitamins in your diet can have a dramatic affect on your general health and will undoubtedly have a part to play in prostate health. But, working out just which minerals and vitamins have a part to play is not a simple matter and is a subject all of its own.
