Drink Considered ‘Important to Your Health’ May Raise Prostate Cancer Risk, Study Warns

Research is increasingly showing that cancer risk can be changed. While the obvious culprits that could pave the way to a deadly condition are smoking and alcohol, a new study unexpectedly suggests that water may also be to blame. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that “getting enough water every day is important for your health.” But a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that nitrate intake during a person’s adult life through consumption of tap and bottled water may be a risk factor for prostate cancer. Fortunately, a healthy diet can help.

The aim of the study, carried out by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), was to evaluate whether there is an association between the intake of water-soluble nitrates and trihalomethanes (THMs) and the risk of prostate cancer.

Nitrates and THMs are the two most common drinking water contaminants.

Nitrates often come from agricultural fertilizers and manure from intensive animal husbandry that is washed into aquifers and rivers by rain.

In addition, THMs are by-products of water disinfection, chemical compounds formed after drinking water is disinfected, usually with chlorine.

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While the only route of entry for nitrates is ingestion, THM can also be inhaled and absorbed through the skin while showering, swimming in the pool, or washing dishes.

Long-term exposure to THM has previously been associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, but evidence for this remains very limited.

This study assessed a possible link by examining 697 men with prostate cancer in Spanish hospitals between 2008 and 2013, including 97 aggressive tumors.

The study group also included a control group of 927 men aged 38 to 85 who had not been diagnosed with cancer at the time of the study.

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During the study, participants also had to complete a meal frequency questionnaire, which provided individual nutritional information.

The study found that the association between nitrate intake and prostate cancer was only seen in men with lower intakes of fiber, fruits, vegetables, and vitamin C.

Donat-Vargas said: “Antioxidants, vitamins and polyphenols in fruits and vegetables can inhibit the formation of nitrosamines – compounds with carcinogenic potential – in the stomach.

“Moreover, vitamin C has shown significant antitumor activity. And fiber, for its part, benefits gut bacteria that protect against food toxicants, including nitrosamines.”