Understanding the Links Between Nutrition, Exercise, and Prostate Cancer

Our modern society is characterized by a lifestyle with low levels of exercise coupled with consumption of foods that are high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt. But your body still responds in the only way it knows — it stores excess food as fat to prepare for times of prolonged starvation. Of course, because prolonged starvation typically does not happen in modern society, this safety mechanism means that we just continue to gain weight and store more fat.

This excess fat, especially the fat around the middle of your body, has been associated with an increased risk of many diseases, including prostate cancer, and particularly aggressive prostate cancer. But you don’t have to be 50 pounds overweight to suffer the ill effects of excess body fat. Body fat is actually an organ with functions. It secretes hormones and specialized proteins that can increase inflammation and oxidation in the cells of your body — two natural processes that are strong contributors to the development and progression of prostate cancer.

Effects of Oxidation and Inflammation

The Contribution of Carcinogens

Effects of Excess Sugar