Team DailyPedia
A new study revealed that consuming carbohydrates increases the risk of lung cancer even if a person has never smoked. CNN reports that carbohydrates with high glycemic index (GI) are the carbohydrates that are associated with lung cancer risk.
Carbohydrates with high GI causes blood sugar to rise rapidly. Some foods with high GI are white bread, white rice, and russet potatoes. On the other hand, carbohydrates with low GI are not associated with lung cancer risk. Examples of these are pasta, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes.
The research was conducted on about 2,000 people in Houston, Texas, that were recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Their diets were compared to about 2,400 healthy individuals. The participants were also asked about their lifestyle and if they engaged in activities that increased cancer risk like smoking and drinking alcohol.
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The researchers then found out that the people who consumed high GI carbohydrates were 49% more likely to have been diagnosed with lung cancer as compared to those who consumed less of these high GI carbs.
Moreover, they also found out that the risk for lung cancer is even higher among those who never smoked or smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. Among those who never smoked, the risk was 2.25 times greater if they consumed high GI carbohydrates.
Xifeng Wu, professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center said, “The risk seems to be high among ‘never smokers,’ suggesting glycemic index is an important dietary risk factor.”
However, Wu emphasized that among smokers, smoking activity is still the greatest risk in developing lung cancer than diet.
On a final note, Marian L. Neuhoser, a member of the Cancer Prevention Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research, who was not involved in the study, said that while the findings of the study suggest that high GI carbohydrates may be a risk factor for lung cancer, further studies still need to be conducted for confirmation.
