Heart, prostate, blood pressure — why men need to eat more veg
Few of us eat enough fruit and veg, but men in particular fall well short of getting their five a day. Here’s what to put on your plate.
Few of us eat enough fruit and veg, but men in particular fall well short of getting their five a day. In every analysis of fruit and vegetable intake – including the National Diet and Nutrition Survey conducted every three years and in each Health Survey for England carried out since 1994 – women are routinely found to eat more portions each day than men.
“It’s a story that doesn’t change,” says Dr Linia Patel, a dietician and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association. “Intake of fruit and veg over the years remains low for all adults, but it’s well established that women get more fibre and nutrients from veg and fruit than men.” And new evidence suggests that it is critical to men’s health, affecting immunity and sex life, and significantly increasing their risk of heart disease and cancer.
“Men are statistically more likely to suffer from heart and cardiovascular disease and bowel or colon cancer than women,” says Eli Brecher, a registered nutritionist. “A high intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of all of these and more health conditions.”
A recent study in the US involving 79,952 men found that those who ate the most plant-based foods – fruit, vegetables and legumes - had a 22 per cent lower risk of bowel cancer than those who ate the least. There was no such association for the 93,475 women included in the study, suggesting a clearer link for men.
Brecher says that even five a day - preferably a ratio of three vegetables to two fruits – might not be enough for men. “It’s been suggested in research that men should be aiming for well over the recommended intake to obtain the nutrients that may be protective against these diseases,” she says. “Some studies have shown that at least seven portions a day results in a 33 per cent lower risk of premature death from any cause compared with less than one portion a day, and that is the amount I try to get all my male clients to eat.”
Last year findings from the University of Oxford – where researchers questioned 472,377 participants from the UK Biobank database, all in good health at the start of the study, about their fruit and veg intake for a little more than a decade - indicated that men eating a vegetarian or low-meat diet were at a 31 per cent lower risk of getting prostate cancer; vegetarian men were 43 per cent less likely to get colon cancer than meat eaters.
Cody Watling, a researcher in Oxford’s cancer epidemiology unit and one of the paper’s authors, says that “it could be that men who eat meat regularly may be less health conscious overall than the other diet groups of men”. But the recommendation remains that “they - along with all other individuals - should try to maximise their fruit and vegetable intake to ensure they are eating at least five portions a day of fruit and vegetables”.
This followed a pair of studies from the US. The first, involving 47,239 men, showed that the more fruit and vegetables consumed by men aged under 65, the lower their risk of fatal prostate cancer during a 28-year follow-up. The second, from the University of Texas, reported that men with localised prostate cancer had a reduced risk of it growing or advancing to a point where they would need treatment if their diet contained more fruit, vegetables and legumes.
Patel says that differences in the gut microbiome of men and women “is another powerful argument for men to up their game” nutritionally. “Studies indicate that females naturally have a more diverse microbiome than males, and that the X chromosome - doubled up in females - carries many immune-related genes. All of this means that women’s immune systems tend to respond more vigorously to an infection than men’s, and underpins why gut and immune-healthy fruit and veg are so crucial for men to consume.”
Variety is key, Patel says, but there are certain fruits and vegetables that men should include in their diet.
1. Eat 5-6 prunes a day for bone health
A 30g portion of dried fruit counts as one of your five a day, and men should consider eating more prunes. Not only are they rich in fibre, aiding gut health and digestion, but the dried plums are a good source of vitamin K2, which is known to boost bone density.
A 2021 study showed that prunes might benefit bone health in men over 50, helping to protect against osteoporosis, which affects one in five men in the UK. A year of eating five to six prunes every day led to decreases in biomarkers of bone breakdown, while no changes were observed in a control group who didn’t consume the dried fruit.
2. Eat an avocado a week for your heart
Cutting down on animal products including bacon and cheese and replacing with two portions of half an avocado a week was associated with a reduced risk of heart disease in a study involving more than 110,000 participants, including 41,701 men aged 40 to 75. Avocado eaters were 16 per cent less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease and were at a 21 per cent lower risk of coronary heart disease over the course of the 30-year study compared with those who never or rarely ate avocado. “As a great source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, avocados are important for men to include in their diet,” Patel says.
3. Have a bowl of dark berries and cherries every day
Berries are rich in beneficial plant flavonoids, particularly anthocyanins, which give the fruits their red and purple hue and provide potent antioxidant power, helping to protect against dementia and heart disease.
A daily intake of blueberries has been shown to improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels in men with type 2 diabetes, and just a few servings a week of berries and cherries to improve erectile dysfunction by 14 per cent, with the greatest benefit to men under 70. A serving of cranberries could improve cardiovascular function in men, according to a study by Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, a senior lecturer in nutritional sciences at King’s College London, who found that an increase of beneficial polyphenols in the bloodstream after eating the berries improved blood vessel function.
“The fact that these improvements in cardiovascular health were seen with an amount of cranberries that can be reasonably consumed daily makes the fruit important in the prevention of cardiovascular disease,” she says.
A bowl of mixed berries is recommended by Ian Marber, the nutrition therapist and author of Man Food. “A polyphenol called resveratrol has been shown to offer some protection against dementia,” he says. “Red wine is the best-known source, but dark berries are a healthier, non-alcoholic way of getting a supply.”
4. Eat 45g a day of broccoli, sprouts, pak choi or cauliflower for healthy blood vessels and sugar
Sulforaphane, an active ingredient of cruciferous vegetables, has been shown to help to lower blood pressure, and 45g daily could lower the build-up of harmful calcium levels in the aorta, the body’s largest artery.
In trials at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, a centre for food and health research, a sulforaphane-rich, broccoli-based soup once a week helped to lower and control blood sugar levels in people at risk of type 2 diabetes.
In another trial the same team asked 39 men diagnosed with slow-growing or localised prostate cancer to take a supplement derived from broccoli or a placebo for four weeks. Those taking the supplement had much higher levels of sulforaphane in the prostate gland. According to Tracey Livingstone, lead author of the study and a urology registrar: “There’s a wealth of evidence suggesting that dietary compounds in cruciferous veg reduce the risk of progression of prostate cancer.”
5. Boost prostate and brain health with more mushrooms
A large study involving more than 36,000 Japanese men aged 40-79 over almost three decades found that eating any variety of mushrooms resulted in lower risk of prostate cancer. Benefits were particularly strong in men aged 50 and older, thought to be a result of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in mushrooms (they are a source of B vitamins, potassium, chloride and copper, as well as selenium). One antioxidant found in mushrooms, L-ergothioneine, is believed to reduce oxidative stress that leads to the chronic inflammation in the body that is responsible for diseases such as cancer.
Another study, using data from 663 participants aged 60 or older and reported in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that those who eat as little as one 150g portion of mushrooms a week might reduce their odds of having mild cognitive impairment as they age.
6. Eat tomatoes four times a week for prostate protection
Dozens of studies have shown that tomatoes and tomato-based products contain high amounts of the plant compound lycopene that gives tomatoes their colour and has powerful antioxidant properties. The amount of lycopene is higher when tomatoes have been heated or cooked, especially with a little oil.
Studies - some funded by World Cancer Research Fund International - by Gary Fraser, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Loma Linda University Health, have shown about a 10 per cent reduction in the risk of prostate cancer when raw tomatoes are eaten at least four times a week, but that protective element soars when they are cooked. “We found that men who consumed canned and cooked tomatoes five to six times a week had a 28 per cent decreased risk of prostate cancer compared with men who never consumed this food,” Fraser says.
7. Eat a serving of spinach and kale for strong muscles
One serving of these leafy greens a day provides a source of nitrates, compounds in the veg that are converted by the body to nitrite, which relaxes and widens blood vessels to boost blood flow to the muscles. A study of 3,759 Australians published in the Journal of Nutrition showed that a diet that is rich in nitrates, predominantly from vegetables, led to people having better leg muscle function. Indeed, those with the highest nitrate consumption from leafy greens had 11 per cent stronger leg muscles than those with the lowest intake, and the veg eaters recorded walking speeds that were 4 per cent faster.
“It’s better to eat nitrate-rich vegetables as part of a healthy diet rather than taking supplements,” says Dr Marc Sim of Edith Cowan University’s Institute for Nutrition Research, the study’s lead author. “Green, leafy vegetables provide a whole range of essential vitamins and minerals critical for health.”
Another study at that university showed how a daily serving of leafy greens helped to “significantly reduce the risk of blood pressure and cardiovascular disease” in 2,933 participants.
“Green, leafy veg - including lettuce, spinach, kale and beet greens - have a profound effect on heart health in men,” Patel says.
The Times
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