Cardiologists and doctors have long known the risk of clogged arteries due to red meat. But they now have another reason to urge patients to avoid these foods.
A recent study found that men at higher risk of malignant prostate cancer if eating beef and other red meats, especially grilled or cooked with very mature.
In research published in the journal PLoS One, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco comparing about 500 men newly diagnosed with malignant prostate cancer with a group of men who are not diagnosed cancers in the same amount as the control group.
All participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their diet during the previous year, including the amount of meat eaten and how to cook it.
Men who ate beef 2.3 times more likely to develop malignant prostate cancer than men who do not eat beef. The high consumption of fat in meat and liver are also associated with an increased risk of cancer.
On the other hand, poultry meat, pork, and hot dogs and sausages are low in fat seems only a little effect on cancer risk.
People who prefer to eat the burger has twice the cancer risk, whereas in the stage is like a burger or eat them only rarely have an increased risk of 12 percent. A similar pattern seen in people who ate grilled steak.
"This is evidence supporting the notion that red meat, especially grilled meats, contain carcinogens associated with prostate cancer," said Ronald D Ennis, MD, director of radiation oncology St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center, in New York City who was not involved in this study as reported by CNN, Friday (25/11/2011).
When meat is cooked and charred at high temperatures on the fire, a reaction occurs which causes the formation of two chemicals: heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In animal studies, these chemicals are proven to cause several types of cancers, including prostate cancer.
"This study not only connect the red meat with prostate cancer risk, but also look at the methods and level of cooking food. This study adds to contribute to our understanding of potential mechanisms in the formation of HCAs and PAHs," said Lee Richstone, MD, professor of surgery and cancer specialists prostate at the Smith Institute of Urology, New Hyde Park, New York.
