High-carb diet increases breast cancer risk

OLDER women, who eat a lot of starchy and sweet carbohydrates may be at increased risk of a less common but deadlier form of breast cancer, a new study suggests.The findings, from a study of nearly 335,000 European women, do not prove that your French fries, sweets and white bread contribute to breast cancer. But they do hint at a potential factor in a little understood form of breast cancer, according to a researcher not involved in the work.The findings, which appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, are based on a long-running European study on nutrition factors and cancer risk.Specifically, the study found a connection between high 'glycemic load' and breast cancers that lack receptors for the female sex hormone estrogen.A high glycemic load essentially means a diet heavy in foods that cause a rapid spike in blood sugar. The usual culprits include processed foods made from white flour, potatoes and sweets. A sweet, juicy piece of fruit can also raise blood sugar quickly. But since fruits are low in calories, they don't contribute as much to your diet's glycemic load.So-called estrogen receptor (ER)-negative tumors account for about one-quarter of breast cancers. They typically have a poorer prognosis than ER-positive cancers because they tend to grow faster and are not sensitive to hormone-based therapies.
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