For some years now there has been a great deal of discussion about prostate cancer and the subject of preventing prostate cancer specifically is still somewhat controversial. Even though, as with most cancers, men do not themselves cause their own prostate cancer, there are clearly various risk factors for developing the disease and there is a lot that can be done, if not to actually prevent it, then certainly to lessen the risk of developing it.

The first step in preventing prostate cancer is simply to understand that you are at risk of getting the disease and also to understand exactly why you are at risk.

There can be no question that men with a family history of prostate cancer are at higher risk and that the risk for someone with one close relative having the condition is approximately twice that of someone without any family history. If you have two close relatives the risk increases to about five times that of someone with no family history and if you have three close relatives your risk reaches an almost incredible ninety-seven percent.

The problem here is that a lot of men are not aware of their family history, commonly because a lot of grandfathers, fathers or brothers have died from other illnesses without ever being aware of the fact that they were suffering from prostate cancer. This happens because prostate cancer frequently develops late in life and can be an extremely slow growing cancer. As a consequence there is a good chance of individuals developing other conditions together with 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 starting point is to check things out if at all possible. If this is not possible, then it is probably best to be cautious and believe that you might be at risk rather than simply assume that you are in the clear.

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

Another risk factor is diet and men living in Western countries such as the US or the UK are at increased risk as a result of the high levels of fat in most Western diets. Here at last we have a risk factor that you can actually do something about and reducing the fat in your diet and eating such things as more fresh fruit and vegetables can lower your risk quite considerably.

At this point we start to run into difficulty because, after the basic principle of lowering fat levels in your diet, opinions start to differ when it comes to looking at other aspects of the diet that might be helpful in preventing prostate cancer.

There is little if any doubt that levels of such things as minerals and vitamins in your diet can have a dramatic affect on your general health and will undoubtedly have a role to play when it comes to your prostate health. But, working out exactly which minerals and vitamins play a role is not an easy matter and is certainly a subject all of its own.