And a plant-based diet tends to be low in fat. Vitamin E may play a role in preventing prostate cancer, but the evidence is still scanty. Selenium supplements have also had a big play in the press, and more research on selenium is underway. But many questions remained unanswered. There's insufficient evidence to recommend selenium pills.
Large doses can be toxic.
The carotenoid lycopene appears to help prevent prostate cancer. Other foods under investigation are soy protein and green tea. Soy and green tea are basic to most Asian diets, though no one yet knows if they are responsible for the lower rates of prostate cancer in Asia. Some questions we can answer Smoking does not seem to increase the risk of prostate cancer. Vasectomy, in spite of some scary media reports a few years ago, does not increase the risk of prostate cancer.