Good prostate health is important to men’s quality of life. An unhealthy prostate can cause many problems in your body, from trouble urinating to a serious disease like cancer. Vitamin C can be a powerful tool in your efforts to keep your prostate healthy. Consuming vitamin C through the foods you eat or in supplement form can benefit your prostate in several ways.

Reduces Risk of Prostate Cancer

Intravenous vitamin C supplements have reduced the number, size and weight of prostate cancer tumors in laboratory rats, reports FoodConsumer.org. The National Cancer Institute notes that more research is necessary to determine whether or not vitamin C supplements can prevent or fight prostate cancer in humans, but that people who eat cruciferous vegetables like broccoli that are rich in vitamin C tend to have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Foundation reports that eating 400 g of broccoli per week may help stop the growth of prostate cancer tumors.

Decreases Risk of Enlarged Prostate

Consuming vitamin C in vegetables may lower your risk of developing an enlarged prostate, according to MayoClinic.com. Vitamin C is abundant in Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, bell peppers, snow peas and snap peas. The recommended daily amount of vitamin C for adult men is 90 to 2,000 mg per day.

Fights Bacterial Prostatitis

Scientists have observed vitamin C at work in test tubes stopping the growth of bacteria that can infect the prostate, causing the prostate inflammation known as prostatitis, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center, so some doctors recommend taking 500 mg of vitamin C per day to help fight prostatitis.