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Fats and Meats are Not the Cause of Prostate Cancer

A diet rich in fats and meat does not increase a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a large, ethnically diverse study.

The researchers examined the diets of over 82,400 men aged 45 or older, from four ethnic groups (African American, Japanese Americans, Latinos, and Whites). They measured the participants’ intake of the following components:

  • Different fats (including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat, and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids)

  • Cholesterol

  • Meat (including total, red, processed, and poultry)

  • Fish

  • Fats from meat
After eight years of follow-up, the study found no association between the intake of fat and meat and prostate cancer risk or advanced tumors.

A “weak protective effect” was found between the intake of omega-3 fats and prostate cancer in Whites and Latinos.

Previous studies examining high-fat and high-meat diets and prostate cancer have found conflicting results.

International Journal of Cancer September 15, 2007, Volume 121, Issue 6, Pages 1339-1345

Reuters October 4, 2007



Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Fats and meats have been wrongly made the scapegoat for a host of diseases when a variety of other factors are actually at play. Check out this great article on the misconceptions surrounding fats from Thursday’s newsletter to see what I mean. 

In the case of prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in U.S. men (after skin cancer), diet is very important, but not in the sense that you should try to lower your fat and meat consumption. In fact, a low-fat diet has been found to NOT prevent prostate cancer.

The major dietary additions you can make to prevent and even help treat prostate cancer are as follows:
  • Get plenty of omega-3 fats from krill oil. Foods rich in omega-3 fats may help prevent prostate cancer from spreading. Omega-3 fats also provide a wonderful benefit for prostate cancer patients by blocking the functioning of omega-6 fats (from vegetable oils) that cancer cells use as an energy source.
  • Eat more high-lycopene foods such as tomatoes and watermelon. One study found that men whose average intake of the antioxidant lycopene was 19 milligrams each day had a 16 percent lower risk of prostate cancer than men who took in 3 milligrams of lycopene daily.
  • Eat foods high in selenium. A number of studies have indicated that selenium intake offers some protection from prostate cancer. Brazil nuts, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, and sunflower seeds are all good sources.
  • Freshly ground flaxseeds. While ground flaxseeds may benefit prostate cancer, flaxseed oil may increase your risk. It is important to recognize that this should NOT be your exclusive source of omega-3 fats, because flaxseed oil has actually been shown to increase the risk of prostate cancer.
With all of the foods above, keep in mind that you should eat them according to your nutritional type, and always listen to your body. If a certain food doesn’t agree with you, that’s a sign that you shouldn’t eat it.

Important Lifestyle Factors to Prevent Prostate Cancer

Aside from your diet, sun exposure is also an incredibly important factor in preventing prostate cancer (and other forms of cancer).

According to one study, men with higher levels of vitamin D (typically obtained through sunshine exposure) in their blood had a 50 percent lower risk of developing aggressive forms of prostate cancer than those with lower amounts. Experiments also suggested vitamin D inhibits cell growth.

There are also numerous studies supporting a link between pesticides and prostate cancer, so you should seek to limit your exposure to these as much as possible.

Finally, while I had previously believed that in the majority of cases, what “causes” cancer and illness is a breakdown in your system due to an unhealthy lifestyle and exposure to toxins in your environment, I am now convinced that unresolved emotional trauma is one of the primary factors in most cancers.

Your best approach to understanding this is German New Medicine.

Because we all have emotional hurdles to overcome, I highly recommend that you find a stress relief method that works well for you. My personal favorite, and the one I routinely use in my practice, is the psychological acupressure tool called the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).


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Comment on This Article Community Comments (17)
 
 
Posted On Oct 05, 2007
The article indicates:
Dr. Laurence N. Kolonel and first author Song-Yi Park of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, said: "Although diet is likely to influence prostate cancer risk, the intake of total and saturated fat do not appear to be important contributors. However, because high intake of fat can lead to obesity as well as other cancers, the consumption of high fat foods should be limited."

What high fat foods should be limited?  Eating the proper fats from meats where the animals are pastured-fed does not lead to obesity.  Our body needs fat and a low-fat diet is not the answer.

 
KAC
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 6/2006
KAC  
Replied

Russ Bianchi
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 9/2006
Russ Bianchi  
 
Posted On Oct 05, 2007
Real fats remain essential in any dietary and nutrient intake to sustain life (of course depending on your metabolic typing predisposition)...real raw cream, real raw butter, olive oil, flax seed oil, real nut oils, coconut, cocoa-butter, safe marbled meats, etc.

Avoid any hydrogenated, gmo, modified, heat processed, fractionated, domestic pesticide and stabilizer laden, margarines or fake spreads, deep fried fats and oils, anywhere, and all the time. 

Uncle Russ


GinaVoce25
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 12/2006
GinaVoce25  
 
Posted On Oct 09, 2007
Amen, Russ!
I have to say that I've been eating more good fat (organic butter, grass-fed beef fat, pastured pork bacon, whole raw milk, cream, cheese, coconut oil) now than I ever have in my life, and my wedding ring is starting to fall off my hand! It's amazing.

(Good) fat does not make you fat, does not make you fat, does NOT make you fat!

Gina


Dr. David Spitz
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 12/2006
Dr. David Spitz  
 
Posted On Oct 28, 2007

As i've been teaching for years...grass fed meats is what we were intended to eat. It's genetically appropriate. Any alteration in the types of fats we ingest, in other words--from GRAIN-fed meats will not be genetically congruent.

For great information, visit www.organicgrassfedbeefinfo.com it's a great information site. You can't buy the meat there, but it is a wonderful resource.

Best Regards

Dr Dave


 
 
 
Posted On Oct 06, 2007
Far more likely to be sedentary life styles than meat and animal fats, wrong lipids,sugar/processd carbs overload and enviromental toxins......same as many other cancers, I suspect.

 
david
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 8/2006
david  
 
 
 
Posted On Oct 06, 2007
There is much more to cancer than fats and meats.  It also has a lot to do with your emotions.

Mary

 
mmc88121
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 11/2006
mmc88121  
 
 
 
Posted On Oct 27, 2007

you're all on the right track, but still missing the point, just like most of the "alternative" health world. you have to take the idea of "emotional blockages" a step further.

prostate cancer is mostly due to a lack of sensuality in the pelvic region.

you know who is least likely to get prostate cancer? gay men and dancers. (pleasure in the hips)

most likely? priests and soldiers. (fear in the hips)

in order for the prostate to function properly , it must be massaged daily by the other organs that surround it. and in order for this to happen, there must be enough mind/awareness/pleasure in the area.

if you want to fix or prevent the problem, get on a massage table, or take a dance or yoga class with someone who knows how to take you into the depths of your core. find your bliss and then follow it where it leads you. that is the answer to cancer.

and by the way, your nutrition ideas will not work either, until there is sufficient mind in the cells to absorb the nutrients.

-bodyworker chris


 
Real Chi
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 9/2007
Real Chi  
 
 
 
Posted On Oct 08, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/3dvxoq

This website indicates a possible link between pesticides and prostate cancer. It says "farming is the most consistent occupational risk factor for prostate cancer". My step father came from a long lived family, for instance his mother was in her 90's when she died yet he succumbed to prostate cancer in his 70's. He had been a Market Gardener and hence would have used a lot of pesticides.

 
Aaltrude
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 4/2007
Aaltrude  
Replied

EQ
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 3/2007
EQ  
 
Posted On Oct 08, 2007
So "organic farmer" is not likely a consistent occupational risk factor.


Sheila C
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 1/2007
Sheila C  
 
Posted On Oct 09, 2007
I remember reading an article by Kevin Trudeau, that said the Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute said that the one thing that all cancer tumors have in common, is pesticides.  You may think I'm crazy, but I believe it.

 
 
 
 
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