Despite fears of acrylamide, this study reveals that whole-grain bread may protect against colorectal cancer while white bread shows potential risks—what's on your plate matters! Review: Bread Consumption and Cancer Risk: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies . Image Credit: Tatjana Baibakova / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition , researchers investigated whether bread consumption increases cancer risk. Bread is among the most consumed foods worldwide.
It is a nutrient-dense food that provides shortfall nutrients; however, it can also be a source of harmful compounds formed during processing, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acrylamide, and heterocyclic amines. High exposure to acrylamide has been reported to cause cancer in animals. As such, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) listed it as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 1994.
However, subsequent epidemiological studies have been inconclusive in assessing associations between acrylamide and cancer risk. Further, many breads have a moderate or high glycemic index (GI). While meta-analyses have shown some associations between high dietary GI and cancer risk, these risk estimates are generally low and inconsistent.
About the study Global Prevalence: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, accounting for approximately 10% of all cancer cases and is the second leading cause of cancer-relat.
