Dairy and prostate cancer: Conflicting information

I have been reading, "How Not to Die" (from various diseases) that highly touts a plant-based diet and have watched Dr. Scholz from PCRI report that a plant-based diet is optimal. I am attempting it, with my wife's help, but it's a challenge. I have seen several doctors recommend the best diet is one that is considered reasonably heart-healthy and that you will stay on. The book was recommended by a friend who has gone ultra-vegan and has been Stage 4 breast cancer for 18 years, adding this diet to chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation.

Recently I watched a podcast regarding Prostate health. An expert on prostate diet suggested drinking ONLY plant based milk. She specifically mentioned Ripple. I have been drinking it ever since the podcast. It taste good and has good texture. It is a little pricey(4.39 -5.99 depending where I can get it). I also read a health article that said avoid dairy, red meat and cure meats like ham and bacon. My urologist and general physician agree with those recommendations. Of course, there are many who still believe moderation is ok. Best of luck to you whatever choices you make.

It's always a good idea to exercise moderation, and limiting red meat is good for colon health. High consumption of processed meats does have a strong correlation with many cancers, so it's best to make them a "sometimes" thing (e.g. go ahead at eat the hotdog they offer you at the church picnic, if you want, but don't have hotdogs once or twice a week at home).

If you're going with plant-based milk, oat milk is relatively inexpensive here in Canada, at least, has a good consistency, and is more environmentally-friendly than other plant milks (oat plants need little or no irrigation, for example, and they have low fertilizer requirements; they're basically weeds). But regardless, make sure you're still getting your calcium and protein if you give up dairy, because ADT very often leads to muscle and bone-density loss.

Here's a meta analysis of studies on the relationship of milk/dairy products and prostate cancer. Not conclusive but directionally indicates that there is some risk.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8255404/

Good article, but inconclusive, as you mention. Odd that no mention of pesticide use - either on the cows for insect induced illness or in the grass/feed was mentioned.
They did say that it was not the fat, nor the estrogen - but ‘something else’ in the milk that might be the culprit. I don’t think it’s the calcium…
Phil

IGF-1

Yeah, could be, but most IGF-1 is already made in the liver. But the addition of bovine growth hormone could be the real culprit?
Again, if you do a deep dive into the biochemistry of how this IGF-1 affects/is affected by various factors, you can go insane - at least I could!
I would be lying if I said that there’s no relationship to dairy consumption and some cancers - too many studies have implicated it as being otherwise - but I personally LOVE all cheeses, yogurt and milk. I will continue to consume them in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
I feel the same way about eggs and meat, and the as yet unknown host response to these foods; some people may be highly affected, some a little and some not at all.
My experience of not being able to eat any kind of red meat whatsoever, due to a tick bite, and watching my cholesterol and triglycerides rise after that shows me that there’s more here than meets the eye.
I ate only chicken (fat trimmed) and turkey - supposed ‘healthy’ options to red meat. So why the rise in blood lipids? I ate mostly Organic Bell&Evans chicken and turkey raised on a farm near me. Makes me wonder about all of this…
Phil

Agreed. I'm trying to go plant-based, and it's a challenge. I've read and viewed that prostate cancer cells feed on animal fat and protein, and the How Not to Die book recommends against all dairy other than yogurt (bacteria eliminating harmful chemicals) and against eggs (choline). What I mostly need to do is to lose the 15 pounds I've gained since starting Orgovyx.

At Orgovyx dot com, About and Side Effects, I believe blood level changes are mentioned. I don't know whether that's characteristic of all ADT but a possibility.

Agree, with most of the diet based research on prostate cancer, many of the conclusions are directional. In the end each of us makes our own choices on how to live our lives. Each journey is different.