Why men should eat vegetable the health benefits of Mediterranean  Why men should eat more plants the health benefits of Mediterranean plant-forward diets   Researchers in the United States (US) conducted a systematic review of existing data in a recent study published in the Urology journal to investigate whether plant-forward (PF) diets could improve male health to prevent and manage benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), erectile dysfunction (ED), and prostate cancer. (PCa).

Why men should eat vegetable the health benefits of Mediterranean

 

Plant-based or vegan diets consist mostly of plant-sourced foods, whereas PF or Mediterranean diets include animal-sourced foods, such as dairy products and meat, in smaller proportions than plant-based foods.

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Why men should eat more plants the health benefits of Mediterranean plant-forward diets

Improved health, animal well-being, and environmental concerns are pushing the shift from plant-based to PF diets. Plant-based diets have been suggested to protect against BPH, ED, and PCa by controlling sex hormone levels, increasing nitric oxide levels, and improving comorbid illnesses associated with the diseases. However, the benefits of PF diets in preventing and controlling BPH, ED, and PCa are unknown.

The current systematic study examined the association between PF diet consumption and widely seen male health disorders such as BPH, ED, and PCa.

Databases such as Medline and PubMed were searched for English articles published between 1989 and 2022 that included human participants consuming plant-based or PF diets, excluding reviews, editorials, comments, and abstracts.

 

Two researchers separately screened the titles and abstracts, with a third resolving discrepancies. PCa outcomes included changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels over time and PCa risk based on hazard ratio (HR), odds ratio (OR), and relative risk (RR) values.

The risk of developing ED, endothelial function marker levels, and the international index of erectile function (IIEF-5) score were all ED-related outcomes. Symptomatic BPH risk, prostatic volume, and worldwide prostate symptom scores were among the outcomes related with BPH. (IPSS).

 

 

Bias risks were assessed in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs using the risk of bias (RoB) assessment tool and the Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS), respectively.

Results

In total, 346 records were identified initially, of which 121 with unmet eligibility criteria were excluded, and the remaining 225 records were screened. One hundred seventy-two records were excluded since the title and/or abstract did not include PF diets as an intervention or variable.

After the full-text review of 53 records, only 24 eligible records were considered for the final analysis. Bias risks were low in 19 non-RCTs, and one RCT, moderate in one RCT, could not be assessed for four RCTs in which the participants were not randomized or compared to comparator groups.

Significant heterogeneity was found in the data search concerning study designs, including evaluation of diets, exposure duration, sample population, and utilization of other modalities (such as mindfulness). The findings indicated a benefit of consuming PF diets, especially against PCa.

A study comprising 1,399 national health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES) participants reported that higher healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI) scores were associated with lower PSA levels (OR 0.5).

In the case-control-type ProtecT study, comprising 13,811 individuals, an inverse association was observed between the risk of PCa development and PCa dietary index scores (assessing tomato product, selenium, and calcium intake).

Likewise, PF diets lowered the probability of PCa development (odds ratio (OR) 0.9). In a prospective cohort-type study comprising 14,000 individuals aged >25 years, diet assessments using lifestyle questionnaires indicated that PCa risk was inversely associated with the intake of legumes (RR 0.5) and tomatoes (RR 0.6).

The findings of other prospective cohort studies indicated that consuming plant-sourced foods conferred protection against PCa (HR 0.7) and PCa-associated deaths (HR 0.8). PCa development risks were especially lower for individuals aged ≤65, having body mass index (BMI) values ≤25.

In a cross-sectional-type study comprising 440 individuals, the odds of ED development were significantly lower among males consuming more vegetables and nuts, with OR values of 0.5 and 0.4, respectively. Mediterranean diet consumption for two years was significantly associated with IIEF-5 scores above 21, indicative of ED symptom resolution, compared to controls (37.0% versus 6.7%, respectively).

Among 21,469 Health Professionals’ follow-up study participants, males aged <60 with higher Mediterranean diet scores and alternative healthy eating index 2,010 scores had lower risks of new-onset ED.

Among men aged 60 to 69 years, higher PDI scores and healthful PDI scores were associated with a lowering of ED development risks by 9.0% and 18%, respectively. Among 2,549 NHANES participants aged 20 to 70, hPDI scores were inversely associated with ED risk (OR 1.0).

BPH risks were inversely linked with consumption of legumes/pulses, citrus fruits, and cooked vegetables among 2,820 males aged 75 in Italy, with OR values of 0.7, 0.8, and 0.7, respectively. Similarly, polyunsaturated fatty acid intake (OR 0.7), which is prevalent in nuts and seeds, was found to be inversely related to the risk of BPH.

BPH chances were decreased among 868 male Australians who consumed more vegetables. (OR 0.8). Similar findings were observed for 1,564 Chinese men over the age of 65.

Men who consumed vegetables 4.0 times a day had a 32% lower risk of BPH than those who consumed vegetables once per day in the PCa prevention study. (OR 0.7).

vegetable and fruit intake was associated with lower IPSS scores; dark leafy vegetables particularly lowered urinary tract symptom progression over 4.0 years by 37%.

Conclusion

Overall, the study finding showed that consuming plant-forward diets could aid in preventing and managing male urologic conditions such as BPH, PCa, and ED.