Best Fruits for Prostate Health

Diet is one of the most important aspects of prostate health, as maintaining a healthy weight and a high-level of nourishment is key is keeping your prostate functioning properly. Specifically, fruits can contain the nutrients needed to maintain proper function in the prostate and protect it against potential disease or damage. Here are some fruits that are most beneficial in maintaining a healthy prostate:

Watermelon

While it was already a good option for prostate and overall health, because it is high in Vitamin A and C, Watermelon is made even better for your prostate due to its high amount of lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant that actually gives watermelon its color. Studies that have been done on Lycopene suggest that it can help lower the risk of prostate cancer. Ideally, each adult should have at least 10mg of lycopene a day in their diet, and watermelon provides nearly 13mg of lycopene in just a cup and a half of the fruit.

Berries

A variety of berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, are all known to be good sources of vitamin C and antioxidants. Vitamin C is beneficial to the prostate in that it can help to ease the swelling and inflammation that is caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. The reduced swelling can lead to increased urinary and sexual function. Antioxidants can protect the body from molecules that are known as free radicals that can attack healthy cells within the body and pose the risk of cancer. 90mg of vitamin C are recommended for adults, and strawberries contain about that amount in just one cup.

Pomegranate

Specifically, pomegranate juice has been studied extensively and has been found to be an effective agent against the progression of prostate cancer. Research has suggested that by consuming as little as 8 ounces of pomegranate juice per day, potential prostate cancer growth can be slowed significantly. According to a study conducted in 2009 through the American Urological Association, men who drank the juice every day saw an increased growth in an antigen that is specific to the prostate. The antigen grew four times faster than it had previously.

Tomatoes

Similar to watermelon, tomatoes get their red color from the naturally occurring chemical Lycopene. As mentioned earlier, Lycopene is beneficial is lowering the risk of prostate cancer, but studies have further found that it also can potentially slow the enlargement of the prostate, as well as the development of BPH. Lycopene functions as an antioxidant, which means that it can help prevent healthy cells from potential damage, and is also beneficial is protecting against other types of cancer such as prostate, breast, colon, and pancreas cancer. Unfortunately, only a small amount of lycopene is actually absorbed into the blood, so while fruits such as tomato should be a regular part of your diet, overindulging in them will not necessarily increase the amount of lycopene in your body.

Apples

Apples are relatively high in fiber, providing roughly 2 to 3 grams per serving. A high fiber diet has been shown to be an effective method of dealing with an enlarged prostate and can also be key in controlling the progression prostate cancer in its early stages. A study found that men from eastern civilizations don’t develop prostate cancer at the rates that men from western civilizations do. It was found that this was due to a difference in diet, specifically, that men from eastern civilizations generally maintain diets that feature less processed foods, and foods that are higher in fiber. Both men from western and eastern civilizations saw their prostates develop legions as they grew older, but only the men from western civilizations saw their legions consistently become cancerous. The difference was determined to be the amount of fiber that was being ingested by eastern civilizations.

Dried Apricots

Also known to be high in fiber for a fruit, dried apricots can also address prostate health in another way - by helping to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate. Additionally, it is high in vitamin C and antioxidants that prevent healthy cells from being attacked, and in turn, slow down the rate of cancer growth throughout the body, including the prostate.