Go easy on the booze. One recent Canadian study found the more alcohol you drink throughout your lifetime, the higher your odds of developing prostate cancer. Another from Brazil’s National Cancer Institute found that risk swells if you take more than two drinks a day. The Brazilian researchers point to acetaldehyde — a metabolite found in alcohol — as the possible cancer contributor. They suspect it may act as a “solvent,” helping carcinogens penetrate the walls of your cells.

Same goes for milk. Prostate cancer risk increases among men who consume a lot of protein from dairy products, suggests research from the UK. The study authors say your body’s levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 leap when you consume dairy protein, and past research has indicated IGF-1 may speed up the spread of cancer cells. Unfortunately, the study doesn’t reveal how much dairy is too much — only that your cancer risk rises along with your body’s levels of dairy’s protein hormones.

Mind your acids. While omega-3 fatty acids from fish have been shown to lower cancer risk, an Australian study tied two types of dietary acids — linoleic acid and palmitic acid — to the promotion of prostate cancer growth. Foods high in linoleic acid include salad dressings, grain-based desserts like cookies and cake, and snack chips, while butter and lard are high in palmitic acid.

Head for the country. Nitrogen dioxide — a major component of traffic-related air pollution —has been linked to higher rates of prostate cancer by a University of Quebec team. The more nitrogen dioxide near your home, the more your cancer risk balloons, they say. Why? Inhaling the gas appears to affect the cells in your immune system, rendering them less able to stop the proliferation of several cancers. Move to the middle of nowhere — or an apartment away from your city’s busiest intersection — the study data suggests.

Source: menshealth.com