For several years now there has been a great deal of discussion about prostate cancer and the subject of prostate cancer prevention specifically remains somewhat controversial. while, as with the majority of cancers, men are not themselves the cause of their own prostate cancer, there are clearly various risk factors for developing the disease and there is much that can be done, if not to actually prevent it, then unquestionably to lower the risk of developing it.

The first step in prostate cancer prevention is to understand that you are at risk of getting the condition and to know precisely why you are at risk.

There can be no question that men who have a family history of prostate cancer are at greater risk and that the risk for somebody with a close relative suffering from prostate cancer is roughly twice that of somebody without any family history. If you have two close relatives the risk increases to approximately five times that of someone without any family history and if you have three close relatives your risk reaches a staggering ninety-seven percent.

One difficulties here is that a lot of men are not aware of their family history, often because a lot of fathers, grandfathers or brothers have died from other illnesses without ever knowing they were suffering from prostate cancer. This occurs because prostate cancer often develops late in life and can be an extremely slow growing form of cancer. As a consequence there is a very good chance that individuals will develop other conditions at the same time as their prostate cancer and it is these other conditions which ultimately cause their death.

So, if you do not know your family history, then a good point at which to start is to check things out if you can. If this is not possible, then it is probably a good idea to err on the side of caution and believe that the risk could be there rather than assume that you are in the clear.

Another important factor is that of race. For instance, African American men are at more risk than Hispanic men who, in turn, are at greater risk than Caucasian men. For an African American man the risk is about sixty percent higher than that for a Caucasian man.

Another risk factor is diet and men who live in Western countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States are at greater risk as a result of the high fat levels in most Western diets. Here at last is a risk factor that you can actually do something about and reducing the fat in your diet and eating such things as more vegetables and fresh fruit can lessen your risk quite considerably.

Now, at this point we start to get into difficulty because, beyond the principle of reducing levels of fat in your diet, opinions begin to differ when it comes to looking at other aspects of the diet that could be helpful in prostate cancer prevention.

There is little doubt that levels of such things as vitamins and minerals in your diet can have a significant affect on your general health and will undoubtedly have a part to play in prostate health. But, determining precisely which vitamins and minerals have a role to play is a difficult matter and is a subject all of its own.

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