News on the Egg-Prostate Cancer Link

[CalBear74]

This debate is not going away. The results of research point to a troubling connection between egg consumption and fatal prostate cancer.

nutritionfacts.org/video/eg...

[Tall_Allen]

He sites old studies. Here's something more recent:

cancerpreventionresearch.aa...

"Intake of total red meat, unprocessed red meat, processed red meat, fish, and eggs was NOT associated with risk of prostate cancer recurrence. "

These studies all just show associations, not causation. Is greater egg consumption, correlated with overall worse health and lifestyle choices? Higher fat intake overall? Because eggs are cheap and fish is expensive, are the researchers only seeing the effects of socioeconomic status on health?

[Currumpaw in reply to Tall_Allen]

An old conversation from 3 months ago. You mention that the study Dr. Greger used was old. In that old study, mutton was the only meat in which choline wasn't present. "Mary had a little lamb whose flesh was devoid of choline". Sorry about that--I couldn't help it!

Currumpaw

[timotur]

If eggs are a strong risk factor for PCa, then it probably led to my cancer because I had probably eaten an egg every day for the past 40 years leading up to my dx. But I think it's well established that there is a low association between dietary and serum cholesterol. There are some benefits to eating eggs that I don't want to give up, mostly the benefit of lutein to prevent macular degeneration, and being a rich source of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper. So, I have cut back on eggs to two/three a week to lower the risk to PCa progression if there is any, and boiling the egg to reduce the risk associated with frying.

[pjoshea13 in reply to timotur]

I doubt that frying an egg adds more risk than boiling or poaching. I knew some in England that liked frying at high temperatures to get the whites crispy, but that's disgusting.

-Patrick

See my other response, above.

[Hidden in reply to pjoshea13]

That’s the way I like them. Haven’t had it that way for a long time.

[Hidden in reply to timotur]

Eggs have a protein in them that block iron and B12. One egg can diminish the iron in a meal by 28%.

[PELHA in reply to timotur]

Brazil nuts are very high in selenium.

[pjoshea13]

If I were to have a bête noire, it would surely be Greger. Every time that man is mentioned, I know that I'm going to have to rake over an old subject yet again.

***

With eggs, we have a basic problem with food questionaires. A minority of eggs produced in America end up on the breakfast plate. A huge number go to commercial bakeries. Of intact eggs that make it to the supermarket, a significant portion will also end up in baked goods. I know how many eggs I eat because I don't eat baked goods. Most men will have a good count on their breakfast eggs, but be clueless about total egg consumption.

Per capita U.S. consumption in 2018 was 279 eggs [A]. Somehow, every man woman & child on average eats more than 5 eggs a week. I doubt that a questionaire would adequately account for those eggs.

***

1 large egg ---> 50 grams ---> 187 mg cholesterol ---> 115 mg choline.

***

The first study that Greger cited is "Dietary cholesterol intake and cancer." [B].

Greger concedes that cholesterol intake appears not to be a problem for PCa.

"... cholesterol intake was inversely associated with prostate cancer." [B]

>1,880.266 mg [equivalent to 10 eggs] / week compared to 966.261 mg was associated with a third less PCa.

...

The second study was "Associations between unprocessed red and processed meat, poultry, seafood and egg intake and the risk of prostate cancer: A pooled analysis of 15 prospective cohort studies" [C].

"Participants who ate ≥25 versus <5 g/day of eggs (1 egg ~ 50 g) had a significant 14% increased risk of advanced and fatal cancers ..."

i.e. more than half an egg daily, compared to a tenth of an egg, appeared to increase the risk of advanced and fatal PCa by 14%.

However, this was only true for North America. Not true for Europe & not true for Australia.

The authors suggest that this might be due to the fact that the U.S. population was an early & enthusiastic adopter of screening, (there was much resistance elsewhere in the world). The idea being that health-conscious PCa screeners include many who avoid eggs, whereas egg eaters who avoid screening would be diagnosed with PCa at a much later stage. In a non-screening country, diagnosis occurs at an advanced stage - whether one eats eggs or not.

***

We all know by now that imaging has been a problem in PCa. PCa cells mostly do not use glucose for energy, so 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) is mostly useless in PET scans. But PCa cells do like choline, which makes a Choline C-11 PET scan far more useful.

Choline is an essential nutrient. We can make a small amount but must get most of what we need from the diet.

In the U.S. 550 mg is considered adequate intake.

Eggs are "high" in choline. Everyone says so. That's true if one is looking at equal weights. Take cod: 100 grams has 84 mg, while 100 grams of eggs has 294 mg. But 8 oz cod has 190 mg compared to only 115 mg for an egg. It's akin to the distinction between glycemic index & glycemic load.

Maybe one shoul restrict choline intake? Not a good idea to flirt with deficiency. Fatty liver disease would be the outcome. If one meets the adequate intake level, PCa cells will likely have access to all that they want. Nutrient restriction may be a good way to slow down PCa, but I wouldn't choose choline.

***

IMO, the case against eggs falls apart when one looks more closely at the evidence.

-Patrick

[A] statista.com/statistics/183...

[B] Dietary cholesterol intake and cancer.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/215...

[C] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Hidden]

Lol. For over 14 years, both my Medical Oncologist and Cardiologist agree, if you like eggs, eat them! I do, and I have......

GD

[Currumpaw]

Being vegan I get plenty of choline from the seeds, nuts and bit of raw wheat germ I either eat or add to a blended drink I make. It is supposedly the choline in eggs that causes recurrence. Choline is essential for strong cell membranes. Life and living life can sometimes pose conflicting choices!

[monte1111]

Eggs, bacon and hash browns sound really good. But I am planning on In And Out burgers today. Maybe tomorrow.

[j-o-h-n]

Eat eggs but remember don't eat the shells.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 01/15/2019 4:45 PM EST

[Litlerny]

Which came first, the egg or it’s association with PCa? Never mind. I think I figured it out. 🍳

[CalBear74 in reply to Litlerny]

The big question: Does a rooster have a prostate? Then, could all of this be about payback?

[Litlerny in reply to CalBear74]

Touché! Good one, CalBear 😎