Fats, Red Meat, and Prostate Cancer

What is fat? Fat is just one of three nutritional molecules the body uses each day to make the body run. Carbohydrates and proteins are the other two essential nutrients the body needs daily. The body breaks down the fat that is taken in and uses what it needs for energy that day and stores the rest. There are three types of fats, trans fats, saturated fats, and omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers have proven that omega-3 acids are helpful in fighting depression, memory loss, and reducing the risk of heart disease. There are some questions about the benefits of these fatty acids in reducing the risk of prostate cancer.

Men who were found to have high levels of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) were three times more likely to develop prostate cancer. The primary sources of ALA in the American diet are animal and dairy products. The biggest source is red meat. Another report states that consuming DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) can lower your risk of having advanced prostate cancer. These two omega-3 acids are mostly found in fatty fish. The simple equation is this: ALA can increase your risk of advanced prostate cancer but eating fatty fish high in DHA and EPA can decrease this risk. The advice of scientists and doctors is to replace red meat with fatty fish once or twice a week.

Grilling meat is a pastime that many Americans believe they can't live without. However, grilling meat has been linked to many carcinogens or cancer-causing substances. There are no hard facts to link grilled meat with prostate cancer. There are some concerns that grilled beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and fish make up about two thirds of the daily carcinogens taken in by the United States population. Researchers are looking at ways to reduce heterocyclic amines found in the diet. Scientists have found there are fewer HA are in a grilled hamburger when it has been flipped several times. This makes them believe that charring is reduced when the hamburger is being flipped repeatedly and there is little charring on the finished hamburger patty.

Other researchers are studying the effects of some vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts that help clear out high levels of HA's. Vegetables continue to be touted as a benefit to all who want to have a healthy life. If it can also reduce the carcinogens in our body we should all review our diets.

The correlation of fat and red meat and prostate cancer is still unclear. There have been findings that suggest that you can reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer by limiting your intake of red meat. What is even more important is to keep vegetables in your diet and add some fish to your weekly menus.

It is important to remember not to make drastic changes to your diet. These changes are not going to last over a long period of time. You can improve your diet by gradually adding in fresh fruits and vegetables and fish products and reducing your intake of fats and processed sugars.

About the Author:
Mike Serovey is the owner and webmaster for http://www.mikeserovey.net where you can submit your articles for free.