BillyBob@388 said...
Gemlin said...
Here is one interesting study:
Prostate cancer and the influence of dietary factors and supplements: a systematic review
www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-11-30.pdf
Summary of current evidence on the relationship between dietary factors and supplements and risk of
prostate cancer:
1. Well-done meat is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer; consumption of red meat should be limited to <500 g per week.
2. High fat intake (mainly saturated fatty acids and linoleic acid) appears related to increased risk of prostate cancer.
3. Milk intake appears to be associated with increased risk of prostate cancer and its intake should be minimized.
4. Tomatoes and tomato-based products may be preventive in early prostate cancer.
5. Cruciferous vegetables may be beneficial but they currently cannot be advocated for prostate cancer prevention due to the paucity of
randomized trials.
6. Pomegranate may have a role in both prevention and delaying progression of prostate cancer, but available data are often conflicting.
7. Soy-containing products may be chemopreventive in prostate cancer but further studies are warranted to clarify their impact on PSA, testosterone,
and sex-hormone binding globulin levels in men with, or at risk of, prostate cancer.
8. Green tea appears a chemopreventive agent in prostate cancer, but there is inconclusive benefit in patients already with prostate cancer.
9. Selenium supplementation is not recommended in chemoprevention of prostate cancer and very high levels may indeed be pro-carcinogenic.
10. Vitamin A is not recommended as part of chemopreventive diet to prevent prostate cancer.
11. Supplementation with vitamin D is not advocated unless the patient is vitamin D deficient. High levels of vitamin D may be associated with a
worse prognosis.
12. There is no evidence regarding benefits of pre- or probiotics in prostate cancer
Probably a pretty good summary at least of the thoughts of many folks, but I personally believe we just don't really know much about
any of that. For example, look at #1 on the list re: well cooked meat above all, and red meat also. Then, going into the report itself, I see:
Somebody said...
Many large cohort studies of meat intake have taken place worldwide in the last 20 years with conflicting results. A meta-analysis by Alexanderet al. looked at pro-spective studies examining the association between red or processed meat and prostate cancer. Fifteen studies on red meat and 11 on processed meat were included but no association between them and prostate cancer
was found [11]. A previous meta-analysis published in 2009 on well-cooked meat and all cancer risk, looked at four studies that examined HCA intake and prostate
cancer and concluded there was a positive association with prostate cancer [6".
So, 26 studies show NO association and 4 studies show a positive association, but the verdict is: "1. Well-done meat is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer; consumption of red meat should be limited to <500 g per week."? Certainly seems debatable to me.
Then there is this:
Somebody said...
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer
and Nutrition (EPIC)-Heidelberg cohort included a total
of 11,928 men aged 40–65 years and 13,612 women aged 35-65 years who were recruited between 1994 and 1998 from Heidelberg and its surrounding communities. Information on diet, lifestyle, and health was obtained at baseline by means of questionnaires and face-to-face
interviews. 337 incident cases of prostate cancer (123 advanced cases) were identified among 9,578 men with valid dietary information. Surprisingly there was no association between HCA intake and advanced prostate cancer or between high consumption of strongly browned meat
Notice they were surprised? The authors of a big Harvard study said the same thing when they ONLY found an association between chicken and eggs but ZERO association with red meat, even when processed. That is because it is certainly the well accepted/conventional wisdom that meat is the evil, and especially red or processed red meat, but the evidence seems to still be lacking. Which is why they are surprised. But it does not keep them from making point #1 to avoid well done and red meat. Don't get me wrong. They may well be right. In fact I have strongly been leaning towards a change to no or low meat. But just like saturated fat, fat in general and the amount of carbs we should eat, the evidence seems- at the most- conflicting. To me it still seems really hard to know. If I continue towards vegetarianism, it will be because I have decided to do a study of 1, just as I did some years ago with low carb approaches, and see what happens.Forgot to mention, my consumption of eggs went up a lot in the month when my PSA spiked up. I figured too much protein, in general, but many studies seem to agree that eggs are not good for PCa, so there's that, too, plus an increase in chicken consumption, though still not a lot of chicken.
However, last week I bought a chicken, cooked it, and had chicken for 4 or 5 consecutive days. I definitely noticed a subtle, but clearly noticeable, increase in symptoms after each time I ate the chicken. Coincidence? I don't know, but don't think I'll be eating too much chicken going forward. At least not for now.