How To Maintain A Healthy Diet After Prostate Cancer Treatment

Certain treatments for prostate cancer such as radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, and external-beam radiation carry the risk of long-term side effects. Some patients complain that they suffer from sexual, bowel, and urinary dysfunction . Usually after treatment, you should discuss with your dietician to plan a healthy and balanced diet to minimize the side effects. Eating right is important for you so that you don't aggravate the side effects. Your dietician can help you to ensure that you take sufficient nutrition for better health and higher level of energy.

In planning your diet, you can follow the guidelines as listed below.

Drink lots of water. You need at least eight glasses of water a day to keep you hydrated. If you don't like water, then you can replace it with other healthy beverages such as fruit or vegetable juice, and soup. Stay away from coffee and tea as they contain caffeine. If you are suffering from diarrhea or vomiting, then you need to drink more water or other fluids.

Testosterone can encourage prostate cell growth. The food you eat can determine your testosterone levels. Therefore, reduce the consumption of high-fat foods that can stimulate testosterone. At the same time, eat plenty of soy products as they contain isoflavones, which may reduce your testosterone levels.

Increase the intake of protein that help to rebuild tissues that are damaged before and after the prostate cancer treatment. You need about 0.5 to 0.6 grams of protein for every pound of your body weight. Protein rich foods include meat, eggs, dairy products, and legumes.

Eat plenty of carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, peaches, and apricots. These foods contain high levels of antioxidants which can prevent cell damage and improve your immune system.

Make sure that you maintain a standard requirement of calorie. After the treatment, you should need about 15 calories for every pound of your body weight provided that your weight does not fluctuate.

If your food doesn't supply enough nutrients for your body's needs, then consider taking a vitamin supplement. Choose a multivitamin supplement that supplies a minimum 100% of the recommended daily allowances for most vitamins and minerals. However, be careful with those that exceed the recommended dose. Recent studies that if you take more than seven multivitamins in a week, the risk of developing advanced cancer increases by 30 percent. Even though the treatment is successful in removing the cancerous cells, you may develop recurring prostate cancer in the course of overuse of multivitamins.

For now, no treatment for prostate cancer can totally avoid the risk of serious side effects. However, all these treatments enable you to enjoy the remaining of your life without worrying about prostate cancer. By eating right, you can improve the quality of life after prostate cancer treatment . The next time you plan your meal, make sure you include plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and soy products.