Diet is important in preventing and helping treat prostate cancer

By Anyang’ Nyong’o
I thank the many Kenyans who sent me messages of support and who sincerely wished me quick recovery after they read my article last week. I am also grateful to those who have drawn my attention to problems that face us in delivering healthcare in Government facilities and what we need to do about them.
I am particularly indebted to those who have gone out of their way to emphasise the need for a social solidarity approach to dealing with our health problems, pointing out the responsibilities of the individual, the Government and society as a whole.
One particular person regretted the delay that we have had in putting in place a comprehensive social health insurance scheme. Such a scheme would help Kenya build a formidable healthcare system to treat Kenyans who suffer from diverse diseases, including cancer. According to him, a few individuals with selfish intentions have decided to stop the Government from implementing this scheme with court procedures which will never help this nation achieve Vision 2030. Instead, we shall always be looking for external assistance to help us deal with our maladies.
As I said last week, prostate cancer is curable if detected in its early stage.
It has now been proven that diet influence the likelihood that we shall get any form of cancer. Interestingly, traditional African foods are generally known to prevent cancer. Yet we have foolishly embraced western foods and ignored our very nourishing traditional dishes. A book has recently been published on such foods. It is called Using Our Traditions: A Herbal and Nutritional Guide for Kenyan Families, by the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health, Nairobi, 2006 (ISBN 9966-7197-3-3).
Although this book does not have any specific section on cancer as such, it has a broad range of fruits, vegetables and herbs which are good for dealing with many ailments and maintaining good health. It would be good to realise that one of the activities we treat very lightly — that is eating — is something we should purposefully plan for as it is the centre of our lives. Seventh Day Adventists practise this in their religion. It is high time we learnt something from them.
Like all organs in the body and the body itself, the prostate gland needs to be nourished. It is now evident, from scientific research, that there are certain nutrients that are particularly good for the growth and health of the prostate and that may help in defending it from being diseased or becoming cancerous.
Leading in the line of useful foods are fruits and vegetables. Down the line as something which should be avoided is red meat, particularly nyama choma, milk and sugar products. Further, smoking is generally regarded as a cancer inducer.
Cancer begins from cells in our bodies dividing and subdividing unnaturally until they begin to attack fellow healthy cells.
The fruits and vegetables that are highly recommended for men’s diet in the prevention of prostate cancer are beans, cabbages, kale, sukumawiki, spinach, mushrooms, wheat grass, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, cantaloupe, oranges, grape fruits, bananas, mangoes, groundnuts, cashew nuts, and all the traditional vegetables that we seem to be losing in Africa today. I can only remember their names in Dho-Luo: odielo, atipa, mtoo, kandhira (this must be "kale"), osuga, dek and many others. In the family of tubers, sweet potatoes, cassava and beetroot are good.
Carbohydrates like ugali will always remain the centre of a meal in Kenya; it provides the necessary energy for keeping the body going. But starchy foods should not be taken in excess: they tend to complicate the weight equation for people who do not burn such energy vigorously. Fish, of course, is very essential.
Fish eaters all over the world have been known to fend off many ailments, and prostate cancer is no exception. We are, however, requested by nutritionists to go easy on fatty foods, taking too much salt, sugar, alcohol and smoked and pickled foods. Lean meat and poultry (or chicken) properly boiled and cooked with some herbs, particularly onions, is good any day. But when all is said and done about diet, there is yet another aspect to being cancer-prone which is complex and beyond our influence.
It is necessary that one knows one’s status so as not to be taken by surprise in case prostate cancer strikes. One of the items to be examined through a blood test is one’s PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) which is a scientific measure of the presence of prostate cancer in the body. The normal range is 0-4; Remember your health is your most valued treasure; don’t treat things that concern your life lightly. These days the internet is there to provide us with a lot of information. Use it. If you cannot use it, your child or somebody around you can help download useful information to enlighten you provided you tell them what you need to know.
My recommendation is that we should emphasise a health policy based on wellness. Thus at every health facility we should have comprehensive care units where individuals should have annual check-ups.
My ministry needs to draw up a protocol for checking wellness every year and ensure that this is kept in every individual’s electronic health records. By implementing a comprehensive social health insurance scheme, this will be a must. It is impossible to promote preventive health care without having mechanisms for knowing how well the people for whom diseases are being prevented are.
Vision 2030 states very well that our health strategy must be based on preventive health, with the responsibility of prevention devolved as much as possible to primary healthcare units. This is as it should be, for as you go to the secondary or tertiary levels of healthcare, only those who need treatment will be attended to. At the moment our referral system is not functional, and we are striving to improve it currently at the Ministry of Medical Services.
In my next article I will discuss in more details what the Government should do to prevent, diagnose and treat prostate cancer.
—The writer is Minister for Medical Services