Prostate Cancer Diet

There is a lot of discussion about what to eat when you have cancer.   From my research the best diet for reducing your chances of prostate cancer and even helping slow the progress of prostate cancer is a low fat plant based diet.  This diet includes lots of vegetables.   NutritionFacts.org is a great place to watch video's and read about this diet.   The videos are based on the research involving the Ornish Diet.   My online research as well as consultations with integrative nutrition expects has determined that you should go one step further on the Ornish diet and eliminate Dairy and Eggs.  

Milk Replacements and Kefir

My first attempt for a milk replacement was Coconut milk.   To me it tastes the best of all of the vegan milks.   This is NOT the best replacement.  According to the Ornish diet this milk is too high in saturated fat.   For now we are going to use almond milk.    In general we don't drink much milk however we like to kefir the milk to add probiotic to our diet.  This is especially helpful for folks in chemotherapy.    I add a touch of sugar to the vegetable milk for kefiring, the sugar provides food for the kefir.   I also feed the kefir grains cows milk every other day.(I give away the milk kefir to friends)

Flaxseed

In our Purge Prostate Cancer diet, we try to have a small amount of flaxseed everyday.  Flaxseed is fantastic for prostate cancer.   Usually I grind the seeds fresh everyday to get the best quality.  

Water Instead of Oil for Cooking

The diet is supposed to have very little to no added oils.  We use water for our cooking.   I always try to saute onions first to give the rest of the vegetables some taste.

Suggested Cookbooks.

Gerson Cookbook - This is a lovely cookbook.  It has TONS of pictures of every recipe.   They are simple recipes that even a novice can make.  You don't have to follow the whole Gerson plan to enjoy this cookbook.    It is expensive but a lovely book!    Gerson tries to cook in ways that preserve the nutrients in the food so the cook times are long and low temperature but the prep is relatively easy.   The food is delicious.

Chemotherapy

To get or not get chemotherapy is a very personal decision that you should make with your doctor.   Changing diet can be done regardless of that decision.   In fact a plant based diet will help you weather chemotherapy even better.    If going through Chemotherapy consider adding juicing to your plan.   Juicing is a great way to get a lot of nutrients into your body.   I am talking about the juices you make at home with your own juicer.    The bottled juices that you get from the grocery store do not have the nutrients that you can get from homemade juices.

There are lots of great juice bars in cities everywhere.. these folks make the juices right in front of you.   If you have one close to you it is a great place to get fresh wholesome juice.   The green juices with wheatgrass are really good for your body.

Remember to consume as much probiotic as you can when going through Chemo.   As it can be really hard on your intestinal flora.     Drink kefir or Kombucha, eat sauerkraut..etc.  - every day if possible.

Also remember the BRAT diet if you get really sick with chemo.  It is bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.   These foods are supposed to be gentle on your stomach and intestine.  

Kombucha

Kombucha is a really yummy probiotic.    If purchasing store bought try to get one with the lowest amount of sugar.   One of my favorite store bought brands is by Makana Beverages, The Bu.    Usually I make my own.  It is easy and you can make it so that it has less sugar.  I use 3/4 cup of sugar per gallon of water and I let it ferment longer so that the SCOBY has fermented more of the sugar.  

Potatoes

Baked potatoes are your friend when eating low fat vegan.   Get a bunch and cook them and eat them as snacks.. no butter or sour cream.  Salsa makes a great topping though or just a bit of hot sauce.   If you bake them in the oven even the skins are yummy and they have fiber.

Sprouts

Sprouts are known to be a great anti Cancer food.  Even someone who is bad with houseplants can make sprouts.   Just get some mason gars, some sprout lids and some seeds.  I soak the seeds for about 12 hours.. (depending on the seeds) Then I rinse and let it drain at an angle..   I will rinse 2-3 times a day.   I harvest when I think they taste yummy.   My favorite sprouts are Mung Bean Sprouts and a mix called broccoli and friends.  The mix has broccoli sprouts and others and it makes the broccoli sprouts easier to eat.    Broccoli sprouts are said to have lots of great anticancer qualities.

Disclaimer:  Not meant as medical advice, please consult your doctor before trying these.