Increase your vegetable intake to decrease your risk of BPH?

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that occurs in about half of all men over 50. This enlargement is usually harmless, but it can result in problems urinating.

An enlarged prostate can be an inconvenience, but it is usually not a serious problem. However, in some cases, the bladder can be blocked enough to make it impossible to urinate.

In the past, research has shown that nutrients with antioxidant properties might reduce the risk of BPH. The objective of this latest study was again to look at the association of fruit, vegetable and micronutrient intakes with BPH.

Participants were members of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, between the ages of 46 and 81 in 1992, who reported having surgery for an enlarged prostate. What they found was there was an inverse relationship between vegetable intake and BPH, where such a relationship with fruit was not found. These results are consistent with previous studies that found that vegetable intake, especially cruciferous vegetables, might lower the risk of BPH.

What does all of this mean? It means eat your veggies! Cruciferous vegetables in particular, which include such vegetables as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, mustard and turnup greens, just to name a few. Most health organizations recommend at least three servings of these types of vegetables a week.

To read the abstract, click here:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/2/523

To learn more about the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, click here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hpfs/