Eating just THREE eggs a week 'increases chance of men getting prostate cancer'

• Men who ate the most eggs also more likely to have a poor diet, be overweight, smoke and take less exercise

Eating three eggs a week could significantly increase a man’s chances of dying from prostate cancer, researchers have warned.

Experts in the U.S. claimed that men who consume more than two and a half on a weekly basis were up to 81 per cent more likely to be killed by the disease. 

They suggested the damage may  be done by the large amounts of  cholesterol or choline – a nutrient that help cells to function properly – that are found in eggs.

Hidden risks: Men who eat more than two-an-a-half eggs a week are 80 per cent more likely to get prostate cancer, a study shows (picture posed by model)

The average Briton consumes an estimated 182 eggs a year – roughly three and a half per week.

Until recently, the British Heart Foundation recommended eating no more than three a week because of fears that they raised the risk of heart attacks  and strokes. 

It dropped the recommendation in 2007 after evidence emerged that very little of the cholesterol contained in eggs enters the bloodstream. 

The latest study, conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, investigated the role  of eggs in prostate cancer following the discovery last year that men diagnosed with low-grade tumours appeared to be more likely to be killed by them if they had an egg-rich diet. 

Health problems: Prostate cancer cells could be affected by high level of cholesterol in eggs

CANCER DRUG TO PROLONG LIFE 'TOO EXPENSIVE'

 A drug that could extend the lives of men with prostate cancer has been rejected by the NHS rationing body for being too expensive. 

Cabazitaxel can delay tumour growth by twice as long as standard treatments, and a study found it prolongs survival by an average of ten weeks. 

However, NICE said that it should not be funded on the NHS, with chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon explaining that the drug – which costs £89,000 per patient – ‘would not be a cost-effective use of limited resources’.

The team examined the eating habits of 27,000 men over a 14-year period. 

They found no significant links between the amount of meat eaten and tumours – but a higher number of cancer deaths were evident among those who admitted consuming lots of eggs.

In a report on their findings, the researchers revealed: ‘Men who consumed 2.5 eggs or more a week had an  81 per cent increased risk of lethal prostate cancer compared to men who consumed less than half an egg a week

'Although additional studies are needed, caution in egg intake may be warranted for adult men.’

However, Sarah Williams, health information officer at the charity Cancer Research UK, said: ‘There is a small amount of previous research on the link between eating eggs and the risk of developing and dying from prostate cancer, but the results have been contradictory and it’s still not clear whether there is a real effect.’