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Differences between Western and Japanese diets may explain
why prostate cancer is 10 times more common in the United
States than in Japan, according to a study.
Researchers noted that the risk of prostate cancer increases
in Japanese men who move to the United States and adopt the
high-fat Western diet, typically within one generation.
The study involved 50 men who had had a cancerous prostate
gland removed. Half of the men lived in Japan and the other
half were born in the United States to Japanese parents and
resided in Los Angeles.
While the men shared similar genetic roots, their diets were
significantly different. The Japanese-American men ate less
soy and more animal fat than the native Japanese men. They
also had more body fat and higher triglyceride levels.
Although it has been suggested that soy may protect against
prostate cancer, soy didn't protect the men in the study,
researchers noted.
Researchers analyzed the prostate cancer samples from the
two groups of men. While the samples looked the same, the
DNA was arranged differently, possibly because of a gene-nutrient
interaction.
The differences between the samples may be a result of diet,
according to researchers.
Annual
Meeting American Urological Association Chicago April 28,
2003
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