Charting the Course for the Road Ahead - Charting the Course for the Road Ahead

There's no question that the dietary and lifestyle habits of Americans have changed significantly over the past few decades, and, for the most part, it hasn't been for the better. On the whole, we're fatter, we exercise less, and we're developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer at rates our grandfathers never could have imagined.

To combat this trend, many people go to extremes. Cut out the carbs, and focus on the proteins, or cut out the proteins and focus on the carbs. Only fruits in the morning and vegetables in the afternoons, or fruits and vegetables all day long as long as they're not eaten together. Although some of these diets might help some people lose weight initially, none of them teach people how to make smart choices over the long term. So when they find themselves stuck in an airport for four hours with nothing but old wilted salad and cranberry juice cocktail as the healthy options, they end up standing in line with everyone else ordering the extra large soft drink and two donuts to go.

Nutritional strategies in the management of prostate cancer are no different. If you renounce all animal products, you will, by definition, maximize your intake of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. But what happens when the choices are limited? Do you know how to make smart choices with what you have in front of you? Or can you only stick to your diet if you're within 100 yards of a health-food store?

A recent study evaluating four popular weight-loss plans showed that the majority of the dieters dropped out within just a few months. But those who were enrolled in programs that could be more easily adaptable to the ups and downs of everyday life stuck to their diets for a longer time. The lesson here is clear: integrate smarter choices gradually, making simple, small changes to your existing diet on a regular basis. After just a few short months, you'll be set on a road toward a healthier lifestyle.

Changing Your Dietary Habits One Tomato at a Time
Although cutting back on food intake and managing portion size are important for weight management strategies, remember that when it comes to prostate cancer, the quality of the food is often more important than the quantity.

Suppose instead of pouring an Alfredo sauce on your bowl of fettuccini, you use a tomato-based sauce with fresh tomatoes, broccoli florets, and small chunks of grilled tuna? You've just added lycopene, sulforaphane, and omega-3 fatty acids. Morning coffee? Skip the skim and add in some soy milk that's chock full of isoflavones. The boys coming over to watch the game? Assuming crudités and tofu dip aren't an option, try replacing the chips and dip with baked, fat-free chips and lycopene-rich salsa.

Because none of these changes require you to completely overhaul your existing diet, they can more easily become integrated into your normal routine. However, they will all require you to pay attention to what you eat, to alter your food shopping habits, and to think creatively when you go out to eat.

Before you go food shopping, sit down for a few minutes and think about what you eat on an average day. If you know you like to snack in the later afternoons, add vegetable chips to your list. If you usually drink orange juice at lunch, throw a container or two of tomato juice into your cart. If you relax with a cup of herbal tea after dinner, try replacing it with green tea. The more options you have on hand, the easier it’ll be to make smarter choices, and the easier it’ll be to incorporate your choices into your everyday routine.

Of course, it's far easier to make those smart choices when you're in your own "safe" environment and when you have free access to healthful foods. How do we make smart choices when we're out in the real world?

Although it might not be apparent from the menu, nowadays, almost every restaurant, fast food joint, and even small sandwich shop has healthy food. The key is to think before you order and to consider whether there are better options to be had before you get ready to order the usual. Skip the double cheeseburger and go for the grilled chicken sandwich with extra lettuce and tomato, using ketchup instead of dressing. It's rare that there are no smart choices available at all, but finding them might require some creativity and persistence—two qualities that are essential to achieving your goal of slowing the development and progression of prostate cancer.

Nutritional Approaches and Therapeutic Strategies Going Hand in Hand
Dietary and lifestyle changes can play an important role in slowing the growth of prostate cancer, but they should complement, not replace, any drug therapy, surgery, and/or radiation treatments that might be recommended by your physician. Be sure to talk with your doctor before initiating any nutritional approaches, particularly if you have any medical conditions that affect your diet and lifestyle, such as diabetes or heart disease.

Remember, as with the foods that you put into your body, it's the quality of the effort that counts, not the quantity. A diagnosis of prostate cancer is the beginning of your journey, not the end. Every small step toward a healthier lifestyle is important and will ultimately contribute to your efforts in battling this disease.