Eating a gut-healthy diet that includes broccoli, cranberries, green tea and probiotics could halt the progression of certain cases of prostate cancer, Good Health can reveal.
A British study involving 212 men with prostate cancer found that those who boosted their diet with such foods slowed the disease’s rate of progression by as much as 42 per cent.
All had been diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer (slow growing and unlikely to progress past the prostate) managed by active surveillance, where doctors monitor the disease and offer treatment if the cancer starts to grow.
At the beginning of the four-month trial, all the patients were contemplating more radical treatment as there were signs that their disease had progressed. By the end, their results had improved so much most chose to remain on active surveillance.
‘Our results offer hope to many men with prostate cancer that they could potentially manage their disease by altering what they choose to eat,’ says Professor Robert Thomas, a consultant oncologist at Addenbrooke’s and Bedford hospitals, and one of the study’s authors.
‘This could spare them from needing to have interventions, such as radiotherapy and even surgery, that have unpleasant and long-lasting side-effects including problems with urination and erectile dysfunction.’
Around 55,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and it claims 12,000 lives annually. Just under half of those diagnosed opt for active surveillance.
This is an option if the disease is classed as low risk – when a man’s levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA, a protein in the blood and a marker of the progression of the disease) is 10ng/ml or lower; or whose Gleason score (an assessment of how aggressive the cancer appears) is 6-7 or lower; or where an MRI shows the cancer has not spread.
A study involving 212 prostate cancer sufferers found those who boosted their diet with certain foods slowed the disease’s rate of progression by as much as 42 per cent
These foods included broccoli, cranberries, green tea and probiotics
But around 60 per cent of men who initially opt for active surveillance subsequently decide on more radical treatment. This is usually because of rising PSA levels or worsening biopsy or MRI results – indicating that the cancer is progressing.
Treatments include radiotherapy, which has possible side-effects including urinary and bowel urgency and permanent bowel damage. The surgical option, a radical prostatectomy to remove the prostate, can cause urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
So could this new dietary approach help men avoid such treatments and their associated side-effects?
The results were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology last month. All the participants were given a specifically designed supplement rich in disease-fighting plant compounds called phytochemicals, made from concentrated whole foods – broccoli, turmeric, pomegranate, green tea, organic root ginger and cranberries.
Half of the men also received a probiotic capsule containing the ‘good’ bacteria lactobacillus, inulin (a type of fibre that feeds the good bacteria) and vitamin D.
The men given just the phytochemical supplement found their cancer progressed 28 per cent more slowly (according to their PSA results) than in the six months before taking it.
But in those who took both supplements, the cancer progressed 42 per cent more slowly. MRI scans before and after the trial showed that the cancer had shrunk in five men who took both supplements – while remaining stable for the majority (92 per cent).
Only nine men (eight in the phytochemical group, one in the dual supplement group) saw their disease progress and opted for more radical treatment after the trial.
All the participants were given a specifically designed supplement rich in disease-fighting plant compounds called phytochemicals, made from concentrated whole foods such as broccoli
Men from both groups also reported a 25 per cent improvement in urinary symptoms – including urge incontinence, dribbling and needing to pee at night. The full results will be published this summer in a major cancer journal.
But why might the supplements bring such benefits?
‘Phytochemicals enhance antioxidant activity in the body, protecting us from DNA damage [a trigger for cancer formation],’ says Professor Thomas.
‘They also dampen excess inflammation which is a strong driver of cancer cells.
‘More recently, it’s been discovered that phytochemicals play a key role in helping maintain a healthy balance of good gut bacteria.
‘A healthy gut helps prevent cancer-promoting ingested toxins leaking into the body.’
Meanwhile, he says, the probiotics help break down the phytochemicals into a more easily absorbed form: ‘This explains why those who took both supplements saw the most significant results.’
The supplements used in the research, YourPhyto and YourGutplus, are available to buy online but you could also replicate this with whole foods.
Professor Thomas says two capsules of the phytochemical supplement a day equates to eating five average-sized broccoli florets, half a pomegranate, a tablespoon of turmeric, three cups of green tea, ten cranberries and a 1cm cube of freshly grated ginger.
As for the probiotic, he adds that ‘you could consume equivalent probiotics with half a cup of kefir, or a tablespoon of kimchi or live sauerkraut every day’.
Professor Thomas said: ‘If borne out by longer follow-up, these results suggest that the majority of the 15,000 UK men whose prostate cancer diagnosis is initially managed by active surveillance, could avoid radical treatments.’
He stresses, however: ‘These supplements are aimed at supporting conventional medical care – not replacing it.
‘But our results could give men on active surveillance the confidence to try using dietary interventions to keep prostate cancer from progressing without necessarily having to resort to the toxicities of radiotherapy or surgery.’
Commenting on the study, Dr Kostas Tsilidis, a senior reader in cancer epidemiology and prevention at Imperial College London, said: ‘This study further supports the important notion that healthy diet changes – including phytochemicals and probiotics – can improve outcomes in cancer patients.
‘It is important to have more, larger studies of this kind. I look forward to reading the full report of the study, including a longer follow-up of the patients.’
