Healthy Plant-Based Diet Linked to Lower Risk of Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Eating the most healthy plant foods is linked to a lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer, a 28-year study of more than 47,000 men has found. In men under 65, the healthiest plant-based eaters had a 44% lower risk of lethal prostate cancer.

Researchers led by Dr. Stacy Loeb of New York University and Manhattan Veterans Affairs analyzed 47,239 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study between 1986 and 2014, scoring their diets on overall and healthful plant-based indexes. The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Over follow-up, 6,655 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Across all ages, the most plant-based diets were linked to a 19% lower risk of fatal prostate cancer. In men under 65, a healthful plant-based diet was also linked to a 16% lower risk of any prostate cancer. No link was seen in men 65 and over, and fewer than 1% of the men were vegetarian or vegan, so the findings reflect eating more healthy plant foods rather than going fully vegetarian.

This prospective study provides supportive evidence that greater consumption of healthful plant-based foods is associated with a lower risk of aggressive forms of prostate cancer, with stronger benefit among men aged <65 y.

That is how the authors conclude in the full paper.

It joins the French study that linked a diet rich in plant foods to 15% lower cancer risk and the finding that healthy plant-based diets are linked to lower risk of death.

Good news for men: another reason to pile on the plants.