More Junk Science and Propaganda

[Guest guest]

I actually saw one of the Harvard researchers on TODAY this morning and

his first words were: " I'm not sure this is the kind of study that should

be talked about publically yet, the science isn't near done yet. "

 

Didn't stop the Atkins / Meat Industry from seizing on it.

 

Top News

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004

Eating Lots of Carbs May Raise Cancer Risk

 

 

 

 

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE

 

AP Medical Writer

 

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.

 

 

 

 

The only true death is stasis.

--Bu Xan Da, Tenshin Monastery, Sh'an Dojo

[Guest guest]

This is absolutely junk science!

 

One thing that they (of course) don't mention is that the people they are

talking about, women who eat a lot of corn tortillas and bread and soda (and

beans too, I bet, although they don't say) are *poor* people. Many many women

in Mexico are living in poverty. They eat corn tortillas and soda because corn

tortillas are often all they have to eat, and sodas are cheap and " better " than

the filthy water. They are often exposed to pollutants, they have little to no

medical care.

 

Sure, their diets are high in carbs- because they are impoverished. You see the

same situation among the poor here.

 

But, oh, it's the *carbohydrates* causing cancer. Not the *poverty* in general.

 

Grrrrr. This sort of thing makes me so mad.

 

The Stewarts <stews9 wrote:

I actually saw one of the Harvard researchers on TODAY this morning and

his first words were: " I'm not sure this is the kind of study that should

be talked about publically yet, the science isn't near done yet. "

 

Didn't stop the Atkins / Meat Industry from seizing on it.

 

Top News

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004

Eating Lots of Carbs May Raise Cancer Risk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone.