Diets High In Fat Increase Prostate Cancer Death Risk

Prostate cancer patients with an unhealthy, high-fat diet have a significantly higher risk of death from the disease, a new study suggests.
?There is currently very little evidence to counsel men living with prostate cancer on how they can modify their lifestyle to improve survival. Our results suggest that a heart-healthy diet may benefit these men by specifically reducing their chances of dying of prostate cancer,?
?Diets high in animal fat and low in fiber are associated with metabolic syndrome ? a collection of conditions including abdominal obesity, elevated blood sugar levels and high blood pressure,?said Dr. Michael Schwartz, a urologist at the Arthur Smith Institute for Urology in New Hyde Park, N.Y.
?It has been known for some time that this type of diet can elevate risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke and various cancers,? he said.
Now, ?this study provides evidence for what many of us have for years been telling our patients with prostate cancer ? or patients who are interested in prostate cancer prevention,? Schwartz said.
He added that the anti-cancer effects of exercise might play a role as well, in that men in the study who ate healthier might also have exercised more.
The research was published online June 1 in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.