Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
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A friend and former coworker revealed that he has BPH. I suggested (ever so politely) that he clean up his diet. Here is what I found in the literature.
Results: Vegetable consumption was inversely associated with BPH (fifth compared with first quintile-OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.80, 0.99; P for trend = 0.03), whereas fruit intake was not. Consumption of fruit and vegetables rich in beta-carotene (P for trend = 0.004), lutein (P for trend = 0.0004), or vitamin C (P for trend = 0.05) was inversely related to BPH. With increasing vitamin C intake from foods, men were less likely to have BPH (P for trend = 0.0009). Neither alpha- nor gamma-tocopherol intake from foods was associated with BPH (P for trend = 0.05 and 0.84, respectively).
Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that a diet rich in vegetables may reduce the occurrence of BPH.
Diet and benign prostatic hyperplasia: a study in Greece (1999)
There were 876 incident BPH cases (33.6/1,000 person-years). The hazard ratios for the contrasts of the highest to lowest quintiles increased 31% for total fat and 27% for polyunsaturated fat and decreased 15% for protein (all ptrend < 0.05). The risk was significantly lower in high consumers of alcoholic beverages (0 vs. ≥2/day: hazard ratio (HR) = 0.67) and vegetables (<1 vs. ≥4/day: HR = 0.68) and higher in daily (vs. <1/week) consumers of red meat (HR = 1.38). There were no associations of supplemental antioxidants with risk, and there was weak evidence for associations of lycopene, zinc, and supplemental vitamin D with reduced risk. A diet low in fat and red meat and high in protein and vegetables, as well as regular alcohol consumption, may reduce the risk of symptomatic BPH.
Results: Among the food groups, fruits were inversely related to BPH risk, with a logistic regression-derived odds ratio of 0.79 per quintile increase and 95% confidence interval 0.67 to 0.93. Increased consumption of both butter and margarine was positively associated with BPH risk, and a marginally significant positive association was also evident for seed oils. No overall association was found with respect to consumption of olive oil. In analyses evaluating the role of nutrients rather than foods, zinc, an element selectively concentrated in the prostate gland, was significantly positively associated with BPH risk.
Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that, among added lipids, butter and margarine may increase the risk of BPH, and fruit intake may reduce this risk. Dietary zinc may play an important role in the etiology of BPH.
