To honor Prostate Cancer Awareness Month this September, the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has launched its “Eat It to Beat It” challenge with the endorsement of celebrity ambassador Harry Lennix, an actor currently starring in NBC’s The Blacklist.
The challenge asks participants to eat 30 healthy foods during the month to raise awareness about how healthy lifestyle changes, particularly in diet, can reduce the risk of prostate cancer and improve outcomes.
“It’s so important that men and their families understand the link between lifestyle and prostate cancer,” Lennix said in a press release. “I’m committed to do everything I can to support the ‘Eat it and Beat it’ challenge which, in turn, will raise awareness about prostate cancer risk and save lives.”
An estimated one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This likelihood increases by 76% for Black men, who are also twice as likely to die from the disease.
Research into metabolism and genetics has shown that an anti-inflammatory diet can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower the likelihood of cancer spreading, and reduce treatment side effects.
“Lifestyle modifications have been convincingly shown to reduce the risk of the onset of cancer and progression, including prostate cancer,” said Jonathan Simons, MD, the foundation’s president and CEO. “Thanks to advances in understanding metabolism and mutations, the concept of using food as medicine is finally converging. Men who adapt these healthier lifestyle changes can help reduce prostate cancer risk, especially Black men who are at a higher risk for developing the disease.”
Through the month of September, the “Eat It to Beat It” challenge calls on the general public to eat 30 foods from the Periodic Table of Healthy Foods, the PCF’s list of 95 foods that occur naturally, have minimal processing, are high in fiber, and are considered beneficial for the microbiome — the collection of microorganisms that colonize the human body.
Participants can share their progress throughout the challenge with the #EatItToBeatIt hashtag on social media. They may also encourage others to join the challenge, and set up a Facebook donation page to support the PCF.
To support those in the challenge, the foundation will offer a gift for participants to track their progress, as well as its new healthy living guide, “The Science of Living Well Beyond Cancer: Health, Nutrition, and Wellness Guide.”
The guide offers tips to optimize health, nutrition, and wellness, which stem from scientific recommendations. These tips are not only for those living with cancer, but anyone interested in living well and reducing cancer risk.
Founded in 1993, the PCF is a non-profit organization that has raised more than $830 million to help support 2,200 research projects at 220 leading cancer centers around the world.
It has supported research that focuses on the effects of immunotherapy, the microbiome, and diet in 70 different forms of cancer.