prostate cancer and red meat

I'm so sorry. Cancer may very well take my life but, it's not going to take my steak.
Hubby wins if I have a vote. 😁

LOL! I understand but I can still try!

I also don’t want my husband eating red meat! What has worked for me is to stop cooking dishes with red meat and have a nice steak or hamburger once in awhile. He likes my cooking and happily eats dishes without red meat. I just started doing it without really discussing it…just quietly changed the menu. I make things like stroganoff with chicken, spaghetti sauce with ground turkey, veggie casseroles, etc. Cooking with love is the most nutritious kind of food in my book.

There are a lot of dietary videos on YouTube about what you should eat with prostate cancer. Your husband is 100% wrong. Going on something like the Mediterranean diet or even fully vegetarian will give you the best chance of a progression free survival.

I’ve had prostate cancer for 15 years started off with surgery 3 1/2 years later it came back had radiation 2 1/2 years later it came back had to go on ADT still had two more reoccurrences. I now eat almost exclusively, chicken and fish. For the first time in about nine years, my PSA has been undetectable for 22 months. I eat a lot of vegetables as well.

I have seen multiple conferences where they discussed what is the best diet for prostate cancer and every single one of them says red meat is not good for you. Same with any milk except non-fat milk. Eating delicatessen meats is very bad for you. I used to have a salami and mortadella sandwich every few days haven’t had one in years now. Between eating correctly and exercising regularly, you can keep your cancer at bay.

If you don’t believe me, look up the videos. I’ve even had meetings with the dietitian to go over what I’m Eating, They have confirmed that red meat is not good for you.

I am not aware of any recent studies that directly link the consumption of red meat with prostate cancer recurrence. As far as I know, earlier studies that showed potential links between red meat consumption and prostate cancer recurrence have since proven to be unrepeatable.

Some studies link saturated fat with a higher risk of prostate cancer recurrence and mortality, potentially due to its impact on inflammation, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels, and lipid metabolism pathways within cancer cells. These studies have more recently focused on dairy milk products and poultry with skin, although the underlying mechanism would also apply to red meat (saturated fat).

You will find many sources of diet recommendations for prostate cancer patients that recommend limiting red meats and processed meats, with UCSF and PCF the most often cited sources:
https://www.pcf.org/patient-support/physical-mental-wellness/nutrition/
ttps://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition-and-prostate-cancer

The basis of the recommendations from UCSF and PCF is diets that reduce inflammation and improve the immune system, because both of those objectives are believed to improve the patient's ability to recover from treatments and the effectiveness of treatments. You will find reference studies on both the PCF and UCSF websites, along with contacts at both organizations who should be able to answer your questions about the prostate cancer diet.

I'm a curious patient and not an expert. There are others in this forum who are far better educated on prostate cancer diets and the basis of those diets, so I hope those people provide you with better answers.

It seems to me that an overall healthy diet would give the best support to someone whose health has been compromised.

Agree

@ucla2025
Did you graduate from UCLA?

Eating a healthy diet recommendation is right on regardless of having health compromised or not. Heathly eating can help prevent health issues.

Eating protein is important per my Mayo dietician. Eating the right portion is the most important thing she said. So equal portions of protein, carbohydrates, vegetable, fruit, etc. are important to a healthy diet.

I don't eat red meat as I read a book one time that brought you throught the process of the cow all the way to your supermarket. I would not refuse to eat red meat if served by someone but I don't eat in on regular basis. I prefer fish, chicken, turkey. I find them much easier to digest.

I think anyone with cardiovascular disease would be more concerned with red meat and cholsestrol and fat. That is why I continue to recommend someone asking question about medical should talk to their doctors who have their medical and mental health issues and history.

There can be many things to cut back on meat not related to PC that a doctor would recommend. When I read the things that some cows eat or are injected with makes me apprehensive. I think diet can have a contribution factor to any cancer but not a cause. But that is what my PCP (Mayo) and dietician bried me on not my medical knowledge as I have none to give medical or dietary recommendations.

I know when I went through PC radiation I was given medical advice to eat a healthly diet as my body was going through the trauma of radiation and a healthy diet was recommended.

I agree with Jeff 100% ! 👍

I read a lot about meat consumption in general, not only "red" meat and also eggs and many articles and all research points to Mediterranean diet as one that is very beneficial. Countries that base their diet on plants have drastically less cancers cases in their population , and especially breast and prostate cancer.

My husband's PSA in February was 7.6 and I put him on supplements and excluded meat from his diet and in just 2 mos his PSA went down to 5.1 ! We tested PSA every 6 -8 weeks till surgery happened in August and his PSA stayed in 5.1 to 5.6 range even though his cancer turned out to be super aggressive gleason 9. Also, most old-timers here who are successfully controlling their cancer against all odds changed their diet - that is for me the biggest confirmation that diet has an impact and also exercise and keeping weight down.

Luckily my husband is the same as me - we love vegetables and fruits and we do not miss meat one bit. Do we love meat - yes , can we live without it - yes . What is necessary should not be hard IMHO.

Somebody mentioned UCSF - actually they recommend lowering meat, eggs and milk products. They did not say "exclude 100%" but that is because they know most people will find an excuse not to do it, so what they said is : eggs - limit, milk and cheese -reduce or eliminate, red meat- reduce , etc. And IT IS NOT all about fats, the problem with meat and eggs is complex and unfortunately I have no time to write all that I read and know and it will not make any difference anyways. People will eat what they want to eat and making diet modification is for most people impossible feat since they just do not want to do that. If they could do it there would be no diabetes, CV disease and so much cancer around . Even we did not change all of our diet before PC happened since we thought that we eat "healthy enough" (Mediter. diet) but - it was not enough !

Happy "vegging" everybody ; ) !!! 💖💗💖

A lot of the nutrition advice for prostate cancer sounds like a long list of “don’ts” — don’t eat much red meat, don’t eat processed foods, go easy on high-fat dairy. That’s real, but it’s only half the story. There’s good evidence that what you add in may matter just as much.

Foods with potential benefit:

Fruits and vegetables — especially cruciferous ones (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) and tomatoes (rich in lycopene) are linked with lower recurrence risk in some studies.

Legumes and soy — plant proteins bring fiber and phytoestrogens that may support hormone balance.

Whole grains and nuts — help with insulin control and provide healthy fats.

Fatty fish (salmon, sardines, trout) — give you omega-3s, which are anti-inflammatory in the context of whole foods (supplements don’t show the same benefit).

Olive oil and Mediterranean-style eating — associated with lower all-cause mortality, not just prostate cancer.

Why this matters: Nutrition isn’t just about “avoiding harm.” It’s also about giving your body tools to reduce inflammation, improve metabolic health, and possibly create an environment less favorable to cancer growth.

So instead of feeling boxed in by restrictions, it can help to think of diet as shifting the balance — less processed meat and junk food, more plants, fish, and healthy oils. That way your plate still feels full, but full of things that may work in your favor.

General dietary patterns

Mediterranean diet and prostate cancer outcomes:
Kenfield SA, DuPre N, Richman EL, et al. Mediterranean diet and prostate cancer risk and mortality in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Eur Urol. 2014;65(5):887-894. PMID: 23601661

→ Men with higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet had lower overall mortality and lower prostate cancer mortality.

Fruits & vegetables (esp. cruciferous)

Cruciferous vegetables:
Kirsh VA, Peters U, Mayne ST, et al. Prospective study of fruit and vegetable intake and risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007;99(15):1200-1209. PMID: 17652276

→ Higher intake of cruciferous vegetables was linked to reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

Tomatoes/lycopene:
Giovannucci E, et al. Intake of carotenoids and retinol in relation to risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995;87(23):1767–1776. PMID: 7473833

→ Frequent tomato/lycopene consumption associated with reduced risk.

Healthy fats & fish

Fish/omega-3s:
Chavarro JE, Stampfer MJ, Li H, et al. A 22-year prospective study of fish intake in relation to prostate cancer incidence and mortality. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;88(5):1297–1303. PMID: 18996867

→ Regular fish intake was not strongly tied to incidence but was linked to lower prostate cancer mortality.

Olive oil / Mediterranean fats:
Schwingshackl L, Hoffmann G. Monounsaturated fatty acids and risk of cardiovascular disease: synopsis of systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012;66(7):781–788. PMID: 22491492

→ Not prostate-specific, but underlines why olive oil is part of the “healthier fat” story.

Plant proteins / soy

Yan L, Spitznagel EL. Soy consumption and prostate cancer risk in men: a revisit of a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(4):1155–1163. PMID: 19211820

→ Soy intake associated with reduced prostate cancer risk in pooled studies.

Processed/red meat (what to cut back on)

World Cancer Research Fund / AICR Continuous Update Project (2018). Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Prostate Cancer.
Link to report

→ Strong evidence: processed/red meat contributes to higher cancer risk; guidance supports limiting intake.