Has anyone here modified their diet after diagnosis / treatment?

Hi ~ A,
No.... we haven't changed our diet... and the only red meat Buddy eats is beef hot dogs...so we definitley won't be eliminating that!!!  I'm the one who eats all the other good stuff!!!! 
Take care!!  Lee & Buddy

Friends,

As a manager of a Supermarket's Fresh Produce Department that does about $7 Million (U.S.) in FRESH Produce sales a year, I've been hesitant to bring up diet any more than I already do.... :)

I almost completely agree with Selmer's guidelines.
I do have a few ingredients and items that I have always avoided as much as possible:

  Sodium (or Potassium) Benzoate 

            (preservatives found in most soft drinks)
  Nitrites and Nitrates 

            (preservatives found in all ham, bacon, hot dogs)

  High Fructose Corn Syrup 

            (This one is scandalous - your tax dollar at work!)

  All Artificial Sweeteners and Artificial Fats.

  Fake Beer,  Fake Wine, De-Caff Coffees & Teas 
            (I call these items "Why Bother?")

Post surgery:

  I quit all caffeine (to fight incontinence) except dark chocolate chips .
  I quit alcohol as it gives me instant bedwetting in my otherwise continent world.

I've always watched the quality and calories of oils in foods and only cook with extra virgin olive oil or canola.
(Non-virgin olive oil is produced using petroleum solvents!)

Will I still eat sausage at the family reunion
- or bacon at my girlfriend's mother's home
- or a Hebrew National hotdog at Lee & Buddy's cookout? 
Will I drink instant tea and eat high fructose junkfood at the Church picnic? 

Of course! 
(There is a story about how some words that come out of your mouth can be more poisonous to you than anything you might eat.....)

But as I just try to avoid these things - without being a pest, I find myself eating more Fresh Fish  & Fresh Produce & Low-Fat Yogurt.  
(Right now, the Alaskan Salmon and Australian Navel Oranges are most excellent.)

It seems studies alternately endorse and then warn against every vitamin & supplement.

about 5 times a week,  I take a Multi, some C, some E, some D  & Cold Milled Flax Seed  or Cold Pressed Flax Oil.

However, as all of our efforts except for Smiling, Fresh Produce and Exercise seem to go in and out of favor at a moments notice - 
 - I hesitate to offer my personal choices of vitamins and supplements as guidelines.

I would, however, try to sell you a box of oranges I imported from Creed!

Your Friend,

C^Cedar
ICTHUS!

When I think of all the diet suggestions there have been over the decades I also think of trends in different illness that have risen and wonder just how much of this is atributed to fad diet trends. Red meat may be bad for our cardiac health but no red meat may be one reason the number of dementia cases keeps climbing. All those carb loaders of from the 70's and 80's are in part, todays diabetics. Our diets should consist of a healthy selection of whole grains / nuts, lean proteins, healthy oils, fresh fruits and vegies and of course, lots of good old H2o. I will never totally remove red meat from my family's diet. Keeping all things reasonable, in moderation and balanced seems most prudent.

Since 75% of our population is dehydrated, drinking more water would be in our best interest. A mere 2% drop in
body water is enough to cause a bit of fuzzy thinking. Feeling that mid day brain fog at work? Drink some water!

5 glasses of water a day can reduce cancer risks by as much as 70+ % for some types of cancer. 8-10 glasses of water a day reduces joint and body pain by as much as 80%. It isn't what we take in that seems to be our biggest health concern. It's what we don't consume. Our diet is often so deficient in fluids that we (and I'm generalizing this) can't tell the difference between hunger and thirst....thus we often tend to eat instead of drinking water.

The human body is capable of secreting up to 5 pints of sweat in an hour! So, on these dog days of summer, DRINK! :>)

Swim

I never have been a big red meat eater, maybe twice a week, 3 at the most, a big vegetable eater.

since the surgery and reading Milken's diet and Dr. Walsh's book, I have had only about 12 0z of red meat since December.

It seems that in Asian countries that don't eat a lot of animal fat and consume more soy, their prostate cancer rates are much lower than here.  Even the Asian population here  has more cases of prostate cancer than their couterparts in their home countries.  Due to less animal fat or more soy or both?

My diet now is no red meat except a pinch sometime, some chicken, no dairy products (I use to eat 2 cartons of Bryers each week, realy miss that), no deserts with sugar,  Salmon, lots of vegetables, fruit, pom. juice, soy milk, soy shakes.  We have made one discovery, eating healthy is more expensive!!!

Does this do any good, I don't know, but I am willing to sacrifice this great tasting food to live longer if it helps.

However I have lost 30 lbs since December and haven't weighed this since I was in high school.

Everyone have a good day.

Ron

Interesting info on the web ... http://www.fightprostatecancer.org/site/PageServer?pagename=detect_prevent_home A. Post edited to activate link….   :) Post Edited By Moderator (bluebird) : 8/2/2007 9:00:43 PM (GMT-6)

Organic dairy just tastes better doesn't it? I like the fact that expiration dates are much longer too.
Thanks for the reminder that calcium with D is our friend!

Swim

Opie,

Being from west Tennessee, we grew up on all the wonderful home canned goods. I still can quite a bit but not like I used to. The taste is amazing, the health benefits are wonderful and its so easy a caveman can do it....LOL!

Swim

Personally, I don't worry that much about what I eat. If I had to know all this stuff about food in order to avoid cancer, I would have died from ulcers a long time ago. Besides, all the brocolli in the world won't change my genes....

Jim

Selmer said...
...Other wise unless the person was fairly young I didn't think they were doing biopsies under 4.0 on otherwise clear patients.
Of course I have read where some think the cut off for those under 50 or even 60 should be lowered to 2.5 or 3.5.
I think part of the reason why I find the entire subject so interesting, beyond my personal risk, is because the entire field is filled with so much uncertainty and alternative opinions.
Very interesting. ...

Selmer,

I think it was Swim who pointed out once that it is not so much the PSA number as its velocity.
I'm in the group that believes all men over 40 should get annual PSA and DRE's for baselines.

The cost is not that great for these tests  - and would encourage annual physicals.
Just the few heart-rendering stories we have heard here about men under 50 with capsular penetration convinces me. 
I'm sure cost to insurance companies and fear of overtreatment - (Yes, how do these surgeons get to that magic number?) and fear of overtreatment - will make funding these tests a challenge.

Further challenging the "statistical significance" (These insurance companies hire actuaries!) of testing at 40: 
Even after the biopsy, a young man is still left with the inertia of statistics
    - and his emotions - to pursue watchful waiting - with any Gleeson under 7.  
This is to say, why might the "young man" want to know about this if the odds are infintesimally small he will act on it?  (We of course say, to watch its velocity!)
This puts logic squarely in your camp, Selmer, of focusing on preventative measures and slowing any possible growth.

Another food-related carcinogen issue:

Most chemical fertilizers and insecticides (and herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, molluskcides, and so forth...) are petroleum based - and sport many side effects - many carcinogenic. 
My reading suggests living and working near these fields is statistically a problem.
For example, the herbicide/fungicide used on strawberry fields prior to planting is deadly. 

Much like you are not a vegetarian, I'm not rabid about "organic farming."    At this point in time, "cow manure & mulch" cannot replace fertilizer use worldwide without literally causing famines.  Fortunately, fertilizers and insecticides are not systemic and wash or peel off the food - As the cook washes or peels the bacteria off the food that I left when I touched it putting it on the shelf.... the chemicals and waxes also go.

I feel it is still generally better to eat regular squash or peaches than to eat none while holding out for the elusive organic squash or peaches...
I do encourage people to support organic farmers with their purchases as we find our way back to predominately locally grown sustainable agriculture. 
Some products will always require plant food (e.g., hydroponic tomatoes) but technology is rapidly reducing our dependency on pesticides and petroleum based fertilizers.  Navel Oranges will still only grow in December in the San Joaquin Valley... 
Every time another small, relatively local, organic farm becomes profitable, sustainable supply and knowledge increase - and price goes down - and fewer carcinogens are released into our environment.

And as Swimom said, it tastes better....

C^Cedar
ICTHUS!