A High-Fat Diet can Increase Your Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

Monday, July 13, 2009 by: Ingela Johansson
Tags: pancreatic cancer, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) A fresh report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that a diet rich in fat from red meat and dairy can increase your risk of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is on the fourth place of deaths caused by cancer in the U.S. and some of the known connections to developing it are obesity, diabetes and smoking. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 45,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009 and out of those, around 35,000 will not survive.

At the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, scientists analyzed over 500,000 medical records of the participants in the National Institute of Health-AARP Diet and Health study. The volunteers, which were 50-71 years of age, answered a 124-item questionnaire on food habits from 1995 to 1996 and were followed up by health checkups for about six years. The results were calculated with energy intake, smoking history, body mass index, and diabetes taken in consideration.

1,337 men and women developed pancreatic cancer during the study. According to the results, a diet with high amounts of total fats gave a 53 % higher risk of pancreatic cancer among men and 23 % higher risk among women, compared to men and women who had the lowest-fat diets. The risk for both men and women who had a high intake of saturated fats from animal sources was increased by 36 %, compared to those with low intakes.

"We observed positive associations between pancreatic cancer and intakes of total, saturated, and monounsaturated fat overall, particularly from red meat and dairy food sources. We did not observe any consistent association with polyunsaturated or fat from plant food sources," the authors of the study write. "Altogether, these results suggest a role for animal fat in pancreatic carcinogenesis."

Earlier research on the correlation between dietary fat from animals and pancreatic cancer has given inconclusive results, but with this study there is new proof.

According to HealthNews, the strategic director of pharmacoepidemiology at the American Cancer Society, Eric J. Jacobs said that the study "provides important evidence that a diet high in animal fat may increase risk of one of the leading causes of cancer death." And, "While further confirmatory research about animal fat and pancreatic cancer is still needed, results of this study support the American Cancer Society's recommendations to limit red meat and emphasize plant foods to help reduce risk of a variety of cancers."

Sources:
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/f... http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/hig...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews...

About the author

Ingela loves to learn about natural health. She also likes to write about natural muscle building, natural skin care, and anti aging.