The prostate gland is a uniquely male organ, and almost 100% of men suffer from prostate disease. Among them, prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that seriously threatens men, especially older men. Although there are no exact statistics on the incidence of prostate cancer in China, the incidence of prostate cancer has increased significantly in recent years as China has entered an aging society and the standard of living of the people has improved significantly with excessive intake of fatty foods, which has attracted the attention of urological and male medical practitioners. The elderly men should also be alert to this and pay attention to the prevention and early detection of prostate cancer.
I. Older men should pay attention to the prevention of prostate cancer.
The risk factors that trigger prostate cancer are: genetics, sexual activity, weight, diet and so on. Among these risk factors, the most preventive one is the dietary factor. Food nutrition affects the amount of cholesterol in the body, which in turn affects androgen levels; food also affects a person’s weight, and the American Cancer Society has reported that the risk of prostate cancer in overweight men is about 30% higher than in men of ideal weight. Regarding dietary factors, the following points should be noted.
1. Reduce the intake of fatty foods.
Prostate cancer is the only type of malignancy that has a non-clinical form, which is known as latent prostate cancer. Latent prostate cancer is often found in autopsies and there is little difference in incidence rates between Eastern and Western countries; however, the clinical incidence of prostate cancer is much higher in Western countries than in Eastern countries, for example, from 1988-1992, 137 per 100,000 men in black America and 2 in Shanghai, China, a difference of as much as 68.5 times.
Why is there such a big difference in the incidence of prostate cancer between the East and the West?
One of the main factors is related to the different dietary structure between the East and the West: Westerners consume more fatty foods and less fiber, while Easterners do the opposite. According to the calculation of starch, animal fat and other components in the diet, Westerners have about 35%, 40% and 25% respectively, while Easterners have about 80%, 6% and 14% respectively, which shows that the intake of fatty food is much higher than Easterners.
If you have too much fat in your body, the amount of cholesterol in your body that is converted into androgens will increase, and the increase of androgens is closely related to the occurrence of prostate cancer.
2. Increase the intake of soy-based foods.
The low incidence of prostate cancer in the East is also related to the higher intake of soy protein in the East. The chemical structure of phytoestrogens is similar to that of estrogen in human body, which has a certain inhibitory effect on androgens, therefore, eating more soy-based foods can help prevent prostate cancer.
3. Other.
The catechic acid in green tea or vitamin E and selenium in fresh fruits and vegetables can help prevent prostate cancer.
In a word, prostate cancer can be prevented from the aspect of diet, which is summarized as follows.
(1) Fatty substances should account for less than 20% of total food calories.
(2) Soy products should be at least 20-40 grams per day.
(3) Daily intake of selenium should be 200 micrograms.
(4) Daily intake of vitamin E should be 400-800 international units.
(5) Drink more green tea, etc. Three or four of them can also be replaced by eating more fresh vegetables or fruits.
Second, elderly men should pay attention to the early detection of prostate cancer.
Early detection of tumor is crucial to the treatment of tumor, so elderly men should pay attention to the early detection of prostate cancer, which mainly relies on rectal diagnosis, prostate-specific antigen, transrectal ultrasonography and transrectal prostate puncture biopsy.
1. Rectal examination.
Although there are various tests for the prostate, rectal examination is still the most basic test.
2. PSA testing.
PSA is a semen-specific protein discovered in the late 1960s that helps liquefy coagulated semen and is associated with male fertility. However, PSA is a prostate tissue-specific antigen rather than a cancer-specific antigen, so many factors can affect PSA levels, these factors are mainly urogenital diseases (such as prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, etc.) can cause an increase in PSA levels; many tests (such as rectal examinations, transrectal prostate ultrasound) can also cause an increase in PSA levels; medication factors, such as Polyclinic, taken continuously After six months of continuous use, the PSA level can be reduced by half.
Nowadays, many hospitals can detect free PSA, and if combined with free PSA, the false-positive rate can be reduced to about 30%, which is of great significance for early diagnosis of prostate cancer.
3. Other detection methods.
Transrectal ultrasonography is used in many clinical applications and can help in the early detection of prostate cancer. Transrectal prostate puncture biopsy is a method to confirm the diagnosis of prostate cancer. There are also CT, MRI and other methods.
In conclusion, prostate cancer is a major problem that threatens the health of men, especially older men. Older men can help prevent prostate cancer by reducing their intake of fatty foods and increasing their intake of soy protein-based foods. Also, older men should pay attention to the early detection of prostate cancer.