Eating fruits and vegetables may help reduce men’s prostate cancer risk

A diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables – known as eating the rainbow – may help reduce men’s risk of prostate cancer, according to researchers from the University of South Australia. 

The researchers took plasma samples from 116 men diagnosed with late onset prostate cancer, as well as from 132 other men who served as a control group. They found that, compared with the control group, the men with cancer had low concentrations of the micronutrients lutein, lycopene, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, along with the element selenium. 

Lycopene lutein, lycopene, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene are found in many fruits and vegetables. Selenium is found in white meat, fish, shellfish, eggs and nuts. The researchers recommend adopting a Mediterranean or Asian diet, which emphasize colorful plant-based foods and healthy fats, along with eating foods naturally rich in lycopene (including tomatoes, melons, grapes, peaches, watermelons and cranberries) and selenium. 

The study was published online in the journal Cancers.