Barbecued sausages form the staple diet for many New Zealand men over summer but new research suggests eating too many of them could be harmful to your prostate health.

A large study of US men found that those who ate the most red meat and processed meat had a higher risk of developing prostate cancer and especially advanced prostate cancer.

And grilled/barbecued meats were also implicated in raising prostate cancer risk.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute followed 175,343 men aged between 50 and 71 for nine years, surveying them about what they ate, how much they ate and the cooking methods used.

During the nine-year period 10,313 of the men developed prostate cancer and 419 died from it.

After adjusting for other lifestyle factors such as smoking and exercise the researchers found that the 20% of men with the highest red meat intake (which in this study included pork) were 12% more likely than those who ate the least to develop prostate cancer.

And they were almost a third more likely to develop advanced prostate cancer.

Similar findings were found with processed meat, although processed white meat was not found to be associated with increased prostate cancer risk.

The only cooking methods linked to an increased prostate cancer risk were grilling and barbecuing.

The researchers found that men with higher dietary levels of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) called benzo-alpha pyrene were at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer.

PAHs are chemicals emitted by meats when cooked at high temperatures; they are known to cause cancer in animals.

High levels of nitrates and nitrites - chemicals used in cured and processed meats such as ham, bacon and sausage – were also associated with increased risk of prostate cancer.