My apologies for this late follow-up report on my consultation with a Mayo cancer dietitian on animal-based proteins for prostate cancer patients.

Three weeks ago I had a video conference with a Mayo cancer dietitian to address whether the protein trio of "dairy, eggs and red meat" represented a legitimate concern for prostate cancer patients. His short answer was "yes and no" with the devil being in the details.

The cancer dietitian was aware of the controversy. However, he also acknowledged prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy have significant needs for consuming quality protein sources. So how did he recommend navigating this controversial path? By focusing on minimizing the common thread amongst these three types of quality protein - animal fats.

More specifically, the dietitian asserted his belief that inflammatory omega 6 animal fats are the primary problem for prostate cancer patients. If animal-based proteins were to be selected he encouraged me to consider (1) lower animal fat alternatives and, where available, (2) selecting omega 3 anti-inflammatory animal fats instead of omega 6.

From a practical perspective, if animal sources of protein were selected then he suggested focusing on the following:
- grass raised beef sources (high in omega 3 fats),
- pasture raised chicken eggs (high in omega 3 fats),
- skim milk (no fat),
- whey protein (very little fat).

The cancer dietician liked plant-based protein sources, but noted it's significantly harder to combine plant-based protein sources in a manner that achieves a high quality, complete amino acid protein profile. It can be done, but it's often difficult.