New Study Links Lower Risk of Prostate Cancer Progression to Healthy Diet

A recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Oncology (JAMA

Oncol) included a report on the role of diet in men with low-risk prostate cancer. Dr. Stephen DeVries, a preventive cardiologist and Executive Director of the educational nonprofit Gaples Institute, Adjunct Associate Professor of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and advocate for advancing the role of nutrition in medicine, highlights the findings from this study.

The authors followed 886 men with low-grade prostate cancer for over 6 years. Those who followed the healthiest diet were much less likely to progress to more serious grades of prostate cancer.

The key features of the dietary pattern linked to a better prostate cancer outcome include high consumption of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, seafood, and plant- sourced protein, and lower intake of added sugar and salt. An extra bonus: although not part of this study, the dietary pattern found beneficial for prostate cancer is the same one linked to improved heart and brain health. Healthy eating is truly the low-hanging fruit in medicine!

JAMA Oncol. Published online October 17, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.4406