How high protein diets affect prostate health

It is that time of year when everyone feels the effects of holiday eating and resolves to lose weight. Quick weight loss diets that are popular with men include high-protein diets like the Atkins diet. And they do make you lose weight. The problem is that they may be linked to many health risks, including heart and prostate health, and are not healthy long term.

High-protein diets help you lose water weight initially. When you stop eating carbohydrates, the body begins burning off its own stores of fat. This process is called ketosis. The upside is that you may not feel hungry, but the downside can include headaches, nausea, kidney trouble, health palpitations and irritability.

It is important to maintain a healthy weight, but not at the detriment of your health. Risk of prostate cancer and enlarged prostate from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) goes up with obesity, not to mention heart disease and diabetes. But high-protein diets also may increase these risks, canceling out the benefit of weight loss. Some of the risks associated with high-protein diets include malnutrition, prostate cancer, increased cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and inflammation. It is wiser to follow a long-term, well-rounded diet that will help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight if you are already where you want to be. Think of your overall health and not just your waistline.

The American Heart Association does not recommend high-protein diets for several reasons. The fatty meats and dairy can raise your cholesterol level and your risk for heart attack. The diet is low on fiber and nutrients that you would normally get from vegetables, fruits, and grains. In addition, meat, especially meat grilled at high temperatures, is on the list of foods to avoid for prostate health because studies show it can increase the risk of prostate cancer.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

The Recommended Daily Allowance is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. An adult male who weighs 150 pounds should eat about 54 grams of protein per day. If you weigh more, your proteins needs go up. If you take part in strenuous labor, endurance sports or body building you require more protein than that.

To give you an idea of how much protein is in food: An 8 ounce filet mignon contains about 54 grams of protein. So you can see it is pretty easy to meet your protein requirements each day.

Healthier Alternative Diets For Prostate Health

The Prostate Diet is a diet that helps meets your whole body health requirements while also protecting your prostate health. It includes fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, plant protein in preference to animal protein, fiber, green tea and cancer-killing foods like tomatoes and cayenne. Cancer experts estimate that what we choose to eat accounts for up to 90 percent of the risk for certain cancers, including prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers. The Prostate Diet includes quality carbohydrates while cutting out sugar.

Many of the foods on the Prostate Diet are consistent with the Mediterranean diet, which is another healthy diet that you can follow your whole life.

Mediterranean diet benefits extend beyond nutrition. The types of foods in this diet can help make you feel satiated and full longer because it includes fiber and healthy fats from nuts, olives, olive oil, avocado and fish. Another advantage of the Mediterranean diet over high-protein diets is variety. After a while, you can get pretty bored eating meat all the time. Plus, with the Mediterranean diet you don’t have to give up foods you love like produce, pasta or whole grain bread.

The Mediterranean diet and Prostate Diet allows protein sources of meat, but these diets emphasize healthy proteins such as fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids and lean cuts of meat that are low in saturated fat.

Fish like salmon and tuna that are high in omega-3 fatty acids are good for men’s prostates and heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids can also help protect against prostate cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Both diets encourage the consumption of plant-based proteins. Some of the best protein for prostate health comes from foods like high-fiber beans, lentils, quinoa and fermented soy products.

Whatever diet you choose to follow, you should include foods from the list of the best foods for men over 40. Besides being good for your waistline, they protect your heart, brain, joints, bones, prostate and sexual health. Make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables. These foods help with your weight-loss plan and give your body the antioxidants and phytonutrients to help your body fight cancer and other illness.

No matter how well you eat, there is always room for improvement. Supplements are part of the Prostate Diet because they promote both a healthy prostate size and urinary health, issues for most men as they age. One prostate supplement that contains 12 natural ingredients is Prost-P10x. Supportive research shows that the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in this top prostate supplement can reduce inflammation and the symptoms associated with prostate disorders. These supplements can help maximize your prostate health and your body’s natural response processes that affect your sexual health as well.

This year, resolve to eat better but don’t focus on just weight loss. Follow a diet like Prostate Diet or the Mediterranean diet to protect your prostate and your heart. Doing so will improve your overall health and benefit your sexual health as well.

Dr. Geo Espinosa

By Dr. Geo Espinosa

Dr. Geo Espinosa is a naturopathic doctor, licensed acupuncturist and certified functional medicine practitioner recognized as an authority in holistic urology and men’s health. He is Clinical Assistant Professor and holistic clinician in Urology at New York University Langone Medical Center. As an avid researcher and writer, Dr. Geo has authored numerous scientific papers and books including co-editing the Integrative Sexual Health book, and author of the best selling prostate cancer book: Thrive, Don't Only Survive.

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