Fried food that abounds in unhealthy fats such as French-fries and fried meat increase the risk of prostate cancer, according to a study by U.S. researchers.

Fried food is tasty yet dangerous!

Several statistical studies in the past have shown that fried food that is food cooked at high temperatures (including grill if it involved oil!), consumed regularly, may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Yet this is the first study that explains how this happens.

Experts argue that the link between prostate cancer and fried food is all about quantity. Basically, men who eat fried food more than once a week are the ones at risk for prostate cancer.

The prostate cancer study

The study involved over 1,500 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and almost 1,500 men who did not have the cancer.
Men who ate one or more fried food at least weekly had an increased risk of prostate cancer that was up to 37 percent.

Weekly fried food intake was also associated with a slightly greater risk of more aggressive prostate cancer.

Apparently, oil brought to a very high temperature decomposes into potentially carcinogenic substances. The more oil used when preparing a dish, the greater will be the amount of toxic compounds that increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Olive oil is good for prostate cancer

On the other hand, olive oil can have benefits as far as prostate cancer treatment is concerned. The protective effect of olive oil is irrespective of the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten in the diet. Epidemiological studies suggest that olive oil exerts a protective effect against certain malignant tumors that are associated with breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometrium, digestive tract, and such.

Thus a healthy diet with olive oil as the main source of fat could considerably lower cancer incidence. The reason is that the cell mutations caused by cancer are partly due to toxins which, when consumed through the diet, attack DNA. On passing through the liver, these toxins produce free radicals that then attack DNA. To combat such free radicals, the body needs vitamins and antioxidants like those contained in olive oil.

Olive oil also adds to the taste of vegetables and pulses whose benefits in cancer prevention have been amply proved.