Healthy Diet with Whole Grains May Improve Prostate Cancer Survival

Healthy diets are an effective way to help prevent diseases, like cancer, but emerging research shows that they can also improve survival in people who have already been diagnosed. In a study of over 900 male physicians diagnosed with prostate cancer, Harvard researchers analyzed their eating patterns and followed their health records for 14 years after diagnosis. They found that men who ate a typical “Western diet” (high in red and processed meat, high fat dairy foods, and refined grains) had more than twice the risk of prostate-cancer related death, and a 67% increased risk of death from all causes. On the other hand, those who ate a healthy diet (with whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, and healthy oils) had a 36% lower risk of death from all causes. This study affirms that nutritious, balanced diets promote the best health outcomes, and that whole grains are an integral component of an overall, healthy diet.
Cancer Prevention Research. 2015 June 1. [Epub ahead of print] (Yang M et al.)