There’s another reason to eat less fat, at least for men: it might reduce the risk of developing life-threatening prostate cancer, American researchers say.
Eating animal fat, especially from red meat, seems to promote the growth of small, latent prostate tumors, making them more likely to become dangerous, a study at Harvard’s School of Public Health found.
According to the study, there’s a mounting evidence that a fatty diet increases cancer risks, notably for breast, colon and prostate cancer. “It says, just like other studies, high fat is bad,” pointed out Dr. Kenneth J. Pienta, a cancer researcher at Wayne State University in Detroit who is familiar with the study.
However, researchers still don’t know whether cutting back on fat will help man prevent advanced prostate cancer. But the recent study suggests it might help. “It’s a safe recommendation because if you cut down on fat you live longer, you get less heart disease and less chance of other diseases,” Dr. Pienta said.
In the Philippines, the number of prostate cancer cases continues to increase, claiming one person every hour, leading health experts think so. In fact, prostate cancer is now the third leading cause of death among Filipino men.
In 2010, records from the Department of Health showed that around six million men over the age of 50 were at risk of developing prostate cancer. Half of the men aged 50 and above, the health department said, are likely to develop urinary and prostate problems as they get older.
Unfortunately, most men don’t know they have it or will have it. “Prostate cancer usually grows very slowly and may take decades to produce symptoms,” says The Merck Manual of Medical Information. “Thus, far more men have prostate cancer than die from it. Many men with prostate cancer die without ever knowing that the cancer was present.”
The bad news about is that “one out of 5 prostate cancers will result in death within five years.” That’s according to Dr. Jason Letran, urologist at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, University of Santo Tomas, and Chinese General Hospital.
The prostate gland lies just under the bladder and surrounds the urethra. It produces the fluid in the semen that nourishes sperm. Pili nut-sized in young men, the prostate gland enlarges with age. Three common disorders affect the prostate: benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer, and prostatitis.
Although life-threatening, prostate cancer is among the most curable cancers – when it is detected early. Roger Moore, known for his James Bond movies, was successfully treated with surgery in 1993. In 2003, Colin Powell underwent surgery for early-stage prostate cancer and also made a full recovery.
Cancer risks
Until now, medical science is still vague what exactly causes prostate cancer, although a number of things can increase a person’s risk of developing the condition. These include age, family history, obesity, exercise, and diet.
The Harvard study found that men who ate red meat as a main dish five or more times a week were 2.6 times as likely to suffer advanced prostate cancer as men who ate red meat only once a week or less.
“The risk went down as the intake decreased,” reported Dr. Edward Giovannucci, who headed the study. “Even eating red meat three times a week rather than five times a week, you did get some benefit.”
Vegetable fats don’t increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer, researchers found. In fact, another Harvard study found that vegetable fats may even fight early stage prostate cancer.
“Study participants who ate the largest amount of vegetable fats were less likely to die from prostate cancer – or any other cause – than men who consumed the most animal fats,” wrote Daniel Pendick, former executive editor of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. Most of the vegetable fats consumed by the men came from oils in salad dressings and nuts.
“The men who consumed the most vegetable oil lived longer, in part because their cancers were less likely to spread beyond the prostate gland,” Pendick wrote. “That suggests, but does not prove, that a diet rich in vegetable oils can slow the progression of the prostate cancer.”
Scientists still don’t know how animal fat acts to promote prostate cancer. There are several theories. It may alter sex hormone levels in the blood. The culprit could be carcinogens formed when animal fat is cooked. Or fatty acids found in meat may interfere with cell functions.
Two forms
Fat comes in two forms, saturated or unsaturated. The difference lies in the chemical structure of each fat molecule, specifically the number of hydrogen atoms. The more complete the addition of hydrogen atoms, the more saturated the fat is. Some foods high in saturated fat include beef and veal, pork, butter, chicken, chocolate and milk and cream.
When there is room for more hydrogen in the molecule, the fat is unsaturated, which can either be monounsaturated (examples: almonds, avocados, peanut oil, peanuts, and margarine) or polyunsaturated (corn oil, sesame oil, mayonnaise, soft margarine and soybean oil).
According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, animal fats are more saturated than vegetable fats.
Saturated and unsaturated fats function as carriers of the fat-soluble vitamin A, D and E. And unsaturated fat provides linoleic acid, a fatty acid considered essential for good nutrition.
Health experts recommend that the total fat in our diet be limited to 30% of calories. This recommendation is applied both to saturated and unsaturated fats. For reduction of risk to cancer, the recommendations have not focused on individual kinds of fat. Instead, a reduction of total fat intake that has been the principal recommendation. Thus, a practical goal of solving the problem of fat-laden diet would be to reduce total fat intake.
Also, to equalize the portions, experts recommend that saturated and monounsaturated fats be substituted with polyunsaturated fats “as much as possible.”
The American Cancer Institute explains that the degree of saturation of fats has nothing to do with the number of calories. “Saturated and unsaturated fats contain the same number of calories (about 100 per tablespoon), so you’re not decreasing calories by eating margarine instead of butter. However, you will decrease your consumption of saturated fat if you make that switch,” it says.
General hints
Nutrition experts share the following hints on how reduce dietary fat:
- Use less spreads on breads and pastries.
- Use approximately one-fourth to one-third the amount of oil recommended in the average recipe.
- Eat no more than 6 ounces of meat a day.
- Read food labels. Just because a product contains low or no cholesterol does not mean that it has no fat. The ingredient label lists the amount of fat.
- Bake, broil or boil foods instead of frying them.
- When broiling meat, keep the meat out of the fat that drips from it.
- Use nonstick pans to limit the amount of fat needed for cooking.
- Steam vegetables and serve them with herbs and spices instead of butter or margarine.
- Experiment with recipes. Try using about three-quarters of the amount of fat called for. Then reduce the amount to one-half. Many recipes, especially those containing meat, call for more fat than is necessary.
- Avoid high-fat snacks such as potato chips, cheese, chocolate, ice cream, nuts and the like. Snack on fruits (fresh or dried), vegetables and whole-grain crackers.
- Substitute skim milk and milk products for whole milk and milk products.
- Plan meals a week in advance so you can have an occasional “forbidden” treat without seriously jeopardizing your diet.
- Don’t eat in fast-food restaurants unless you have no other choice.
- Avoid foods that are dipped in batter and deep-fried.
