Insight Into Nutrition And Urology

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As a urologist I have a unique insights into men's health. I wanted to share a few of those insights along with a brief review of what leading researchers are telling us to remain healthy. Three health issues are important to discuss. These are getting your weight down, preventing prostate cancer and sexual health. I am going to stress how keeping your heart healthy and how nutrition plays a key role in these three men's health challenges. Staying healthy leads to a more fulfilling, happier, productive life and may even extend our years. Let's look into each of these three areas.

The first key to a great healthy life is getting your weight under control. That means getting to your ideal body weight for your age. Remember being overweight affects more than 1 billion people worldwide and it's becoming a growing problem in kids as well. Men get fat around the belly and that is a big risk factor for diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.   Our bodies are designed to work best when we are lean. Being overweight is bad for kidney function too and leads to high blood pressure.   First and foremost is to reduce your calories voluntarily. One mainstay to losing and maintaining a good weight is to limit sugars in your diet. That includes soft drinks, cookies, cakes, and the sugar bowl. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean meats are key to a healthy diet. We also need to exercise more and regularly. Combine a heart healthy diet and regular exercise. You'll lose weight and develop new healthy eating habits for life.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men other than skin cancer. To prevent prostate cancer, follow the advice of Dr. Mark Moyad, a top investigator in linking diet and life style to cancer. He states that being heart healthy equals prostate health. Statins, aspirin and metformin (S.A.M.) are generic, lost cost heart healthy agents that come from natural sources and are linked in studies to lowering the risk of prostate cancer. Speak with your health care provider to see if you would benefit from using these. The ideal level of protein in our diet for prostate cancer prevention is unclear. Fish consumption, especially fish high in omega-3 fatty acids has shown protection against prostate cancer. That doesn't include fish that fried in hot oil though. Should you be taking vitamins? There is evidence to support that small amounts of certain vitamins may protect against prostate cancer. But too much seems to increase the risk. Use a children's multivitamin because the vitamin levels are just right. Higher vitamin D levels were also associated with less prostate cancer risk. What about tomatoes? Tomato products which contain lycopene have been shown to also reduce the risk of getting prostate cancer. One serving per day or 5 servings per week is recommended. In the diet, nutrients and compounds that are getting increased attention in prostate cancer prevention are the following. Silibinin found in seeds of milk thistle has been shown to stop the growth of prostate cancer. More research is needed. Curcumin is a food additive in Asia and also stops prostate cancer growth in mice but human tests have not been done. Pomegranate and walnuts have been shown to slow down prostate cancer cell growth. It is not yet known whether they can prevent prostate cancer. Green tea has antioxidants that have shown to be effective. In one study men were given 600mg of green tea catechin that reduced prostate cancer by 60% compared to men who did receive it. Fruits and vegetables have high levels of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Garlic, leaks, chives and shallots contain naturally occurring phytochemicals that enhance the immune system. Evidence suggests that these vegetables may protect against prostate cancer. A supplement blend that contains pomegranate, green tea, broccoli and turmeric significantly slowed the tumor marker blood test PSA in men that had prostate cancer. In summary, it seems that the Mediterranean diet, which is high in vegetables, olive oil, whole grains, lean meats and antioxidants shows promise in preventing prostate cancer and is the best for preventing ED as well. Beware, nutraceuticals, nutrients, dietary supplements and herbals are heavily promoted as preventing cancer. They are not regulated and some have not been tested in a scientifically sound way to determine if there is benefit or possibly harm in using them. It's best to discuss using these with an experienced health care provider.

The final key to a great healthy life is sexual health. It is estimated that there will be 325 million cases of ED worldwide by 2025. There are many major studies that show a strong link between erectile dysfunction (ED) and most of the heart risk factors including diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. In fact, ED is a tip-off to heart disease and a higher risk of dying from complications of heart disease. In a landmark scientific paper Esposito studied men with ED and created two groups one received a carefully planned Mediterranean diet and the other group remained on their regular diet. After two years the men on the Mediterranean diet scored higher on a standard rating scale of their erectile function than those of the regular diet. It appears that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains increases the nitric oxide levels in the penis which is crucial to having an erection. Recreational drug use is also linked to ED in younger men as well. Esposito also found that weight loss in overweight men improves their erectile function. As you might expect, there's a direct connection with smoking and ED just as smokers have more heart disease including heart attacks.   The take-home message: to avoid ED, if you smoke, quit. Finally, men who don't exercise regularly have a lot more problems with ED. So make time and get motivated to exercise regularly. 30 minutes three times a week will make a difference.