High-carb Diets May Increase Cancer Risk For Women

High-carb Diets May Increase Cancer Risk For Women

February 04, 2004

- Liz Szabo
USA TODAY

Diets filled with certain high-carbohydrate foods may increase the
risk of colorectal cancer in women, according to a study published
today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Cakes, cookies and other quickly digested foods score high on the
''glycemic index,'' a measure of the rate at which carbohydrates are
processed into sugar.

A sudden surge in blood sugar prompts the body to produce a matching
rush of insulin, which helps convert the sugar, or glucose, into
energy. Insulin stimulates cells to divide and keeps them alive longer
than normal. That could encourage the growth of tumors, the study
says.

Brown rice and wheat breads, in contrast, contain carbs that are
absorbed more slowly by the body.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital
in Boston followed more than 38,000 women for an average of nearly
eight years and identified 174 with colorectal cancer, according to
the article. Women in the study with high dietary glycemic loads were
more than twice as likely to develop colorectal cancer.

Some health experts say the study, although preliminary, is
intriguing.

''You may pay for that sugar high in more ways than you realize,''
said Michael Thun, head of epidemiologic research for the American
Cancer Society.

He noted that results of similar studies have been mixed, however, and
that more research is needed.

Others note that measuring glycemic loads is complicated.

''It's difficult for the average person to make sense of this,'' said
dietitian Melanie Polk, director of nutritional education for the
American Institute for Cancer Research. ''An easier guide is to base
your diet on fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.''

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