Foods to Avoid With Prostatitis

Prostatitis, or prostate inflammation, can result from bacterial and non-bacterial causes. Although antibiotics can effectively treat the bacterial form, the other type poses more difficulties. Medical doctors and naturopaths alike advise men with prostatitis to avoid certain foods that are inflammatory in nature. 

Medical Advice

• The physician-sponsored Family Practice Notebook website advises men with prostatitis to avoid spicy foods, anything containing caffeine or saccharin, and alcoholic drinks, particularly beer.

Added Recommendations

• Naturopaths take it several steps further, with recommendations to avoid chocolate, cranberries and cranberry juice, lemon juice and carbonated drinks, particularly colas.

Food Diary

• Keeping a food diary can help determine which other foods might be aggravating the prostatitis. Write down everything you eat, and note any foods that cause flare-ups. Additionally, eliminating foods for a certain time frame and then adding them back into the diet can point to sensitivity issues.

Possible Culprits

• For an elimination diet, you'll need to avoid sugar, dairy products, refined and processed foods, fried food and junk food. Once the prostatitis is better, if you want to, you can try adding each type of food back in one by one.

Zinc

• Another recommendation some naturopaths make is to avoid foods high in zinc. These include shellfish, herring, organ meats, soybeans, wheat germ, and many nuts and seeds.

Water

• Men with prostatitis may also benefit by drinking at least 6 to 8 cups of water daily.