Eating lots of carbs may raise breast cancer risk, study finds

These new study results are sure to cause a lot of controversy! This was
just reported by the AP; it was the headlines just a few minutes ago on a
local TV Station's homepage (www.wvec.com):


Eating lots of carbs may raise breast cancer risk, study finds

12:04 AM EDT on Friday, August 6, 2004
Associated Press
High-carb diets may increase more than just waistlines. New research
suggests they might raise the risk of breast cancer.
Women in Mexico who ate a lot of carbohydrates were more than twice as
likely to get breast cancer than those who ate less starch and sugar,
scientists found.
The study is hardly the last word on the subject, but it is one of the few
to examine how the popular but controversial low-carb diet craze might
affect the odds of getting cancer, as opposed to its effects on cholesterol
and heart disease.
The new findings also don't mean that it is safe or healthful to eat lots of
meat, cheese or fats, as many people who go on low-carb diets do, experts
say.
"There are many concerns with eating diets high in animal fat," said Dr.
Walter Willett, chief of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"If people do want to cut back on carbohydrates, it's really important to do
it in a way that emphasizes healthy fats, like salads with salad dressings."
Willett worked on the study with doctors at Instituto Nacional de Salud
Publica in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health of Mexico, and the American
Institute for Cancer Research. Results were published Friday in the journal
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Fats, fiber and specific foods have long been studied for their effects on
various types of cancer, but few firm links have emerged. Being overweight
is known to raise risk, but the new study took that into account and still
found greater risk from high carbohydrate consumption.
Scientists think carbs may increase cancer risk by rapidly raising sugar in
the blood, which prompts a surge of insulin to be secreted. This causes
cells to divide and leads to higher levels of estrogen in the blood, both of
which can encourage cancer.
A study earlier this year suggested that high-carb diets modestly raised the
risk of colon cancer. Little research has been done on their effect on
breast cancer, and results have been mixed. One study last year found
greater risk among young women who ate a lot of sweets, especially sodas and
desserts.
For this study, researchers enrolled 475 women newly diagnosed with breast
cancer and a comparison group of 1,391 healthy women in Mexico City who were
matched for age, weight, childbirth trends and other factors that affect the
odds of getting the disease.
Women filled out a lengthy food questionnaire developed by Willett and
widely used in nutrition studies, and were divided into four categories
based on how much of their total calories came from carbohydrates.
Those in the top category -- who got 62 percent or more of their calories
from carbs -- were 2.22 times more likely to have breast cancer than those
in the lowest category, whose carb intake was 52 percent or less of their
diet.
"The findings do raise concern about the possible adverse effects of eating
lots of carbohydrates," especially for people who have diabetes, insulin
resistance or are overweight, Willett said.
"It adds to the information that diet's important" with respect to cancer
risk, said John Milner, the National Cancer Institute's chief of nutrition.
How applicable the results are to American women is debatable. Carbohydrates
make up half of the typical American diet -- less than what most of the
women in this study consumed.
"The main carbohydrates these women ate were corn-derived, including
tortillas, and soft drinks and bread," said Dr. Eduardo Lazcano-Ponce, one
of the Mexican physicians who did the study.
Corn isn't fortified with folate and other nutrients as are many grains,
cereals and other sources of carbohydrates eaten in the United States, and
those nutrients might help prevent cancer, noted Sandra Schlicker, executive
director of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition.
Breast cancer rates in the United States are among the highest in the world.
Nearly 132 cases are diagnosed for every 100,000 women. In Mexico, incidence
is rising and is currently estimated at 38 cases per 100,000 women. But
Willett cautioned that those rates are not adjusted for age differences and
that the U.S. population is considerably older than Mexico's and therefore
more at risk of cancer.
In the study, women who ate a lot of insoluble fiber -- found in whole
grains, fruits and vegetables -- had somewhat less risk of breast cancer.
Fiber can modulate the absorption of carbohydrates.
"It leads me to believe that healthier carb sources, or at least diets
containing fiber, would be less strongly associated with breast cancer,"
said Marji McCullough, a senior epidemiologist and nutrition expert at the
American Cancer Society.
Experts say more research is needed through a study that, instead of relying
on women's memories about what they ate, asks them to keep food diaries and
then follows them for years afterward to see which ones develop cancer.
Finding dietary links to breast cancer is important because diet is one of
the few risk factors a woman can easily modify.
"This study alone isn't enough for people to make changes in their diet, but
it's a cautionary sign," Willett said.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that carbohydrates constitute 45
percent to 65 percent of calories, and that no more than 20 percent should
come from added sugars, said Schlicker, who served on the panel that drafted
the advice. New dietary guidelines are due to be released next year.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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