Changing life style is one of the most important recommendations that can be made to all men, especially those diagnosed with prostate cancer. One of the main ingredients to change when modifying your life style is to change your diet. There has been a lot written about optimum prostate cancer diets, one of the best known is the diet recommended by the prostate cancer survivor, Michael Milken.

Michael Milken’s Nutrition Guide in a Nutshell

The following is a bare bones summery of the 40 page “Nutrition and Prostate Cancer Guide” published and funded by Michael Milken’s organization, The Prostate Cancer Foundation. The guide was written by Edward L. Giovannucci, MD, ScD, Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, and Peter H. Gann, MD, ScD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

1. Keep your body at an optimum weight…loose weight in a safe manner—consult your doctor if you are obese.

2. Eat 5 to 9 servings a day of fruits and vegetables without sauce or dressing (raw is the best ). Eating at least 5 servings each week of cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli, might help you decrease your risk of developing prostate cancer. Size-wise, this translates into about a half cup of cooked vegetables per serving.

3. Eat at least two servings a week of tomato sauce roughly a half cup per serving.

4. Drinking 8 oz of pomegranate juice daily might slow the rate at which prostate cancer progresses (for many of us we might be better off using an extract or pills so as to avoid the levels of sugar in the juice.)

5. Any anti-cancer effects of green tea requires drinking six or more cups per day (this will help you avoid coffee).

6. Reduce eating red meat…(or better yet don’t eat any red meat) and don’t grill any red meat that you might choose to eat.

7. Increased consumption of soy-based foods would seem to be beneficial in slowing the disease process. However, because not all soy-based foods are high in isoflavones and some preparations can be high in fat and low in nutritious value, be sure to discuss the value of adding different types of soy-based foods into your diet with your doctor and/or qualified nutritional consultant. ( Soy may not be good for men with advanced prostate cancer as we used to believe, I personally do not consume any soy).

8. Eat more fish, but take care not to over eat fish considered high in mercury. Consult your fish monger and dietician for advice. (Small fish which are lower on the food chain will contain less mercury..i.e. sardines)

9. Exercise regularly, at least 30 minutes a day at least 3 days each week. Include stretching exercises and resistance exercises and weight training. (This is even more important for men on a hormone blockade).

That’s about all of the main points in this 40 page booklet. As always, consult with your doctor about any change in diet and/or activity.

I have borrowed this page, other then my personal comments which are placed in italics from the Malecare web sight, www.malecare.com.

Joel T Nowak MA, MSW