Refined tastes linked to breast cancer

leo · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1574

From Nature Reviews Cancer.

Carbohydrates are the hot topic in dieting circles ? the Atkins diet has consigned them to the back of the kitchen cupboard because of their purported role in weight gain. A new report in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention (1 August 2004) now links high carbohydrate intake with breast cancer. "This study raises important questions about high carbohydrate diets", said study co-author Walter Willet (Scientific American, 9 August 2004). In fact, this case?control study of the dietary habits of 1,866 Mexican women found that those who acquired more than 62 percent of their calories from carbohydrates were 2.2 times more likely to develop breast cancer.

However, scientists have been quick to warn against premature conclusions: "You cannot make generalizations about 'carbohydrates', because the category contains an enormous variety of foods that have vastly different nutritional profiles and vastly different effects on the body", stated Ritva Butrum on the American Institute for Cancer Research web site (6 August 2004).

As the authors themselves remark, "the main carbohydrates these women ate were corn-derived, including tortillas, and soft drinks and bread" (CNN.com, 6 August 2004). These highly processed, 'refined' carbohydrates lack the insoluble fibre, vitamin and folate content of 'unrefined' carbohydrate sources such as vegetables and fruits. This distinction is an important one, as the study results also indicate that consumption of insoluble fibre is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. So, rather than instigating a blanket policy against all carbohydrates, perhaps we should simply be choosing our carbohydrate sources more carefully.

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