Don’t Eat Overcooked Meat

Any meat (including fish) cooked at high temperatures creates dangerous carcinogens. Scientists looked at men whose diets included high intake of red meat cooked at high temperatures, pan-fried, or well-done. Their findings published in 2012 showed specific gene expression changes that predisposed these men to advanced prostate cancer. These kinds of studies show that one can exert a degree of control over their cell regulatory genes by avoiding overcooked meats.

Aggressive malignancies are those that rapidly propagate, infiltrate and metastasize. A 2011 study evaluated almost 1,000 men and found that higher consumption of any ground beef or processed meats was associated with an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Men who ate ground beef showed the strongest association with a 130% increased incidence. The association primarily reflected intake of grilled or barbequed meat, with more well-done meat conferring a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer. In contrast, consumption of rare/medium cooked ground beef was not associated with aggressive prostate cancer.

A 2011 study looked at dietary patterns of 726 newly diagnosed prostate cancer cases and compared them to 527 controls. For advanced prostate cancer (but not localized disease), there was an associated 79% increased risk in men who ate hamburgers, a 57% increased risk with processed meats, a 63% increased risk with grilled red meat, and a 52% increased risk with well-done red meat. This study corroborated others associating consumption of processed meat and red meat, especially when cooked at high temperatures, with increased cases of advanced prostate cancer.