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"Overeating is the most lethal form of malnutrition"
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FATS AND OILS
Dietary fat has long been suspected of being
related to prostate cancer, and in fact, it’s a
major risk factor. But as we discussed in
BRIGHTFOODS: Discover the Surprising Link
between Food and Learning, Memory, Mood, and
Performance, all fats are not the same. Some
oils are medicinal, while most others promote
diseases other than cancers, including
Alzheimer’s, attention deficit, cardiovascular,
mild cognitive impairment (forgetfulness),
obesity, and Type 2 diabetes.
Trans Fats (promoters)
Trans fats are formed during vegetable oil
processing or hydrogenation, which increase the
risk of developing prostate cancer. Margarine in
particular was found to be a promoter. These
unnatural fats known to cause heart disease can
also be found in bakery products, fast foods,
and packaged snacks. New York City was the first
to restrict these.
Partially Hydrogenated or Unnatural Oils
(promoters)
Partially hydrogenated fats are essentially
halfway-trans fats. They were recently
restricted in Montgomery County, Maryland (home
of the FDA). Oils that are partially
hydrogenated are unhealthy and include canola or
rapeseed, corn, olive, soy, safflower, coconut,
palm, peanut, and sunflower. Canola is touted as
being safe when heated to high temperatures, but
this is oxymoronic given the fact that fried
meats and produce such as fish and chips become
carcinogenic.
Linolenic, an omega 3 fatty acid, found in
processed and oxidized oils, has been linked
with an increased prostate cancer risk. At the
same time we know that protective fats such as
non-hydrogenated olive oil (first press or extra
virgin) also contain linolenic acid. This
discrepancy can be explained by the fact that
processed linolenic acid found in supplements
and partially hydrogenated plant oils may not
have the same healthful impact as linolenic in
non-heated, non-pressurized, and non-hydrogen
gas-treated olive oil because of differences in
bioavailability, composition, and absorption.
Low levels of EPA and DHA are not associated
with an increased risk, and any benefits from
fatty fish or fish supplements might be due to
their vitamin D content or lack of red meat more
than their EPA and DHA components. People
concerned about prostate cancer can, therefore,
save money by avoiding commercial fish and flax
seed oil, and reducing supplements, red meat and
dairy.
Saturated Fats (promoters)
Saturated fats are the other bad boys found in
red meats, hot dogs, delicatessen meats, low fat
and whole milk and cheese, butter, poultry skin,
lard, and plant oils such as coconut and palm.
Saturated fats have essentially no antioxidant
or nutritional benefits. Saturated fats from
animal and plant oil sources are thought to
increase the risk for prostate cancer. Never the
less, a small percentage of saturated fats
should be present in a healthy diet; but don’t
get any ideas that it’s ok to proceed with
saturated fats, because the therapeutic
percentage referred to here is substantially
less than the amount found in the American diet.
Wrong-Ratio Fats (promoters)
Linolenic (omega 3) is best absorbed and used by
the body in the presence of a certain ratio with
linoleic (omega 6) and oleic (omega 9). This
might explain why processed linolenic acid alone
may increase prostate cancer risk, while the
unprocessed linolenic found in a therapeutic
ratio is protective. This, coupled with findings
of increased levels of linolenic in men with
prostate cancer, underscores the importance of
consuming fats containing linoleic as well as
linolenic in balanced ratios in order to avoid
the accumulation of one and deficiency of the
other. In addition, because fish-oil supplements
and vegetable-seed oils, including flax, are
high in processed or oxidized omega 3, they are
also prostate cancer promoters because of wrong
ratios.
Processed linoleic acid and arachidonic, both
omega 6 fatty acids, either in a poor ratio or
in the absence of minimally processed linolenic
and oleic, have been linked to disease. And even
though arachidonic has been found to be a
prostate cancer promoter, this finding can also
be explained away as bad science using our
wrong-ratio reasoning and argument.
Extra Virgin or First-Press Olive Oil
(protective)
Extra virgin olive oil is thought to be a
prostate protector for several reasons. First it
contains large amounts of potent antioxidants
including lignans, which are not present in
partially hydrogenated plant oils and virtually
absent in the other two forms of olive oil,
processed or refined virgin and husk. Other
antioxidants in olive oil include alpha
linolenic, tocopherols, and vitamins A, C, and
E. But antioxidants are not the only components
of extra virgin olive oil that can reduce the
risk of developing prostate cancer. The
minimally processed fatty acids and their
chemical derivatives have made them potential
protectors. “Fish oils” EPA and DHA, for
example, both of which can be derived from the
linolenic in olive oil, in a ratio of 2:1 to
10:1 (linoleic omega 6: linolenic omega 3), can
inhibit the promotion of prostate cancer. Olive
oil has a good ratio of 5:1 and is also rich in
the monounsaturated fat oleic, which is also
thought to be a protector.
A leading nutritional neuropsychiatrist believes
foods or supplements containing processed omega
6 and 3, inside or outside the right-ratio
range, such as partially hydrogenated vegetable
oils or alpha linolenic acid supplements, lose
their prostate protective punch. Also, because
it has been shown that eating marine EPA and DHA
in supplements is not prostate protective, but
frequent consumption of fatty fish has been
linked to reduced risk, it may be prudent to
consume precursors of these vital oils in other
less-toxic natural food forms such as avocados,
dark green vegetables (if you are not taking
Coumadin), first-press olive oil, and walnuts.
These natural sources of “fish oil” are more
reliable than processed supplements, which are
often mixed with oils that can inhibit the
absorption of EPA and DHA. In addition, omega 3
was found unlikely to prevent cancer, possibly
because researchers used non-therapeutic ratios
and processed oil.
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