Fat Increases Prostate Cancer Development and Mortality Risk?

There are a countless number of diets being promoted these days. Unfortunately most are not healthy while a whole-food, plant-based no-oil diet is definitely best. When it comes to the issue of prostate cancer, there is one type of food in the diet that has been consistently shown to increase both prostate cancer development and mortality risk. This high risk dietary culprit is fatty foods, especially saturated and animal fats. Numerous studies have provided ample evidence that support the carcinogenic effect of dietary fats on the prostate gland.

Studies Support the Cancer-promoting Action of Dietary Fats

The findings of a 2014 study reveal that high intake of dietary fat increased prostate cancer development risk. In this study, a team of researchers from the Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Canada reviewed data and evidence on the subject. The investigators observed that individuals who regularly consumed fatty foods, especially saturated and animal fats, are at increased risk of developing prostate cancer compared to those on low-fat diets. The results of this study validated the findings of previous studies.

A 1999 study that investigated the correlation between regular dietary ingestion of saturated fats and prostate cancer survival rates found out that patients on diets loaded with saturated fats had three times higher chances of dying from prostate cancer than those who rarely consumed or completely avoid fatty foods. Thus, dietary fats not only elevate prostate cancer development risk but also increase the likelihood of dying from the disease.

Dietary Fats as a Factor for Prostate Cancer

High serum concentrations of free insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and decreased plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins-3 (IGFBP-3)—the major protein that inactivates IGF-1 in the blood—are associated with individuals consuming a high dietary intake of fatty foods. IGF-1 is a potent carcinogenic agent; it is one of the most powerful promoters of cancer growth ever discovered. IGF-1 is a natural human growth hormone that promotes normal growth during childhood and abnormal growth—proliferation, spread, and invasion of cancerous cells—during adulthood. By decreasing IGFBP-3 and boosting endogenous levels of free IGF-1, dietary fats help stimulate the growth and proliferation of cancerous cells in the prostate gland.

Fatty Fods—to Eat or not to Eat?

Prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in men worldwide. Dietary and lifestyle habits play a key role in prostate cancer development and progression. Diets rich in fatty food, particularly animal and saturated fats, promote the growth and development of microscopic cancer cells in the prostate gland and hasten the progression of the disease to an advanced stage. These fatty foods are bad for the prostate specifically and human health in general, so there should be no space for these types of fatty foods on our plates. 

Additional Information:

(1) The Role of Dietary Fat throughout the Prostate Cancer Trajectory

(2) Nutrition and Prostate Cancer

(3) Dietary Fat and Prostate Cancer: An Important Update and Review of Mechanisms

(4) Does Growth Hormone Cause Cancer?

(5) High-fat Western diet increases chances of prostate cancer

(6) Dairy Products Promote Prostate Cancer

(7) Dietary fat and prostate cancer progression and survival