Prostate Cancer Risk Improved By Eating Fat, Researchers Find

Filed under: Study — @ October 15, 2007

Researchers from the University of Hawaii have evidence from a large-scale study that says consuming full-fat dairy products is a much better option for warding off prostate cancer than the reduced-fat and fat-free dairy options.

Lead researcher Dr. Song-Yi Park, from the Cancer Epidemiology Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii at the Honolulu-based University of Hawaii, examined data from the Multiethnic Cohort Study which took place from 1993-2002 featuring 82,483 men who were 45 years old and older at the beginning of the study. Detailed records of what each of the study members ate were recorded for Dr. Park to observe.

Overall, there were 4,404 instances of prostate cancer and the researchers noticed something rather peculiar about the KIND of dairy products that were ingested by the study participants and how that impacted their risk for developing prostate cancer.

It turns out that there was a 12 percent DECREASE in the risk of developing prostate cancer for those who drank whole milk. Conversely, there was a 16 percent INCREASE in the risk of developing prostate cancer for those who drank 2% or skim milk.

This study appeared in the October 8, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Incidentally, Dr. Park also published a study last month that looked at the issue of prostate cancer and how meat consumption is not necessarily a contributor to it. Using data from that same Multiethnic Cohort Study to see if the specific kind of fat made a difference in the prostate cancer risk, the researchers said the type of fat and meat consumed showed NO ASSOCIATION WITH OVERALL PROSTATE CANCER RISK or tumor development.

This study was published in the September 15, 2007 issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

Click here to read more about these two studies and what they might mean for future treatment of such devastating health issues like prostate cancer.