In the November 2012 issue of the journal Carcinogenesis, associate professor of preventive medicine Mariana Stern of the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine and her colleagues reveal an association between pan fried meat intake and a higher risk of prostate cancer.

"We found that men who ate more than 1.5 servings of pan-fried red meat per week increased their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 30 percent," reported Dr Stern. "In addition, men who ate more than 2.5 servings of red meat cooked at high temperatures were 40 percent more likely to have advanced prostate cancer."

The study analyzed data from 717 men with localized prostate cancer, 1,140 advanced cases and 1,096 men without the disease who were enrolled in the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study. Questionnaires completed by the subjects provided information on poultry and red meat intake, including cooking practices.

The team uncovered an association between advanced prostate cancer and a high intake of red meat cooked at high temperatures, as well as with well done meat. A reduction in the risk of advanced disease was correlated with baked poultry intake. When meat intake was examined by type, hamburger was found to increase prostate cancer risk. "We speculate that these findings are a result of different levels of carcinogen accumulation found in hamburgers, given that they can attain higher internal and external temperatures faster than steak," Dr Stern commented.

"The observations from this study alone are not enough to make any health recommendations, but given the few modifiable risk factors known for prostate cancer, the understanding of dietary factors and cooking methods are of high public health relevance," she remarked.

For a cancer patient who appreciates the importance of a properly planned diet, the task is daunting. The diversity of the population minimizes the likelihood of a universal diet; nonetheless, most diets are hyped as being nutritionally correct for everyone.

Avoid synthetic and refined foods: white flour products and sugar as well as trans fats (those fats altered by overheating, hydrogenation, and refining). Avoiding well-done meats and exposure to heterocyclic amines (formed during high temperature cooking) eliminates another significant cancer source (Zheng et al. 1998).

Tumors are primarily obligate glucose metabolizers, meaning they require sugar for survival. Even though the brain normally uses high amounts of glucose, hepatomas (a tumor of the liver) and fibrosarcomas (a sarcoma that contains fibrous connective tissue) consume roughly as much glucose as the brain. Some Americans continuously satisfy cancer's appetite, ingesting as much as 295 pounds of sugar a year.

Dr. Jeff Bland advises selecting foodstuffs low on the glycemic index to avoid gratifying the tumor's appetite. The glycemic index lists the relative speed at which different foods are digested and raise blood sugar levels. Each food is compared to the effect of the same amount of pure glucose on the body's blood sugar curve.

Glucose itself has a glycemic index rating of 100. Foods that are broken down and raise blood glucose levels quickly have higher ratings.