High maize intake increases risk of cancer: study

Chandigarh, Apr 19 (UNI) Intake of large quantities of maize and common salt in the diet can put one at a higher risk of getting oesophageal cancer.

A case study by the Department of Gastroenterology at PGI here has revealed the effects diet may have on the human body and how maize and salt consumption in fairly large quantities could be responsible for oesophageal cancer, the third most common cancer in north India.

Apart from maize and salt, a high intake of oil and animal food were found to be the dietary risk factors for oesophageal cancer.

As many as 200 patients from the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh took part in the study.

''This is the first such study in north India that takes into account the influence of diet on the development of oesophageal cancer,'' Dr Rakesh Kochhar of the Department of Gastroenterology at the PGI claimed.

''While everyone knows that long-term smoking increases the risks, we were surprised to see that a person with moderate salt intake is at nine times more risk to contract oesophageal cancer'' Dr Kochhar said.

With high salt intake, the cancer risk increases 13 times, he added.

According to the study, a person who eats maize more than 50 times in a year is fairly high prone to the risk of cancer.

The study further revealed that the manner in which maize is stored and later consumed increases the cancer risk. Maize often gets contaminated with fungus, which may be responsible for irritating the lining of the oesophagus, as per the study Also, a marked decrease in nutrients such as magnesium, zinc, nicotinic acid and riboflavin in artificial maize meals as compared to whole maize, maybe a cause for cancer.

Another risk factor that the study revealed was the intake of oil. ''People with high oil consumption have a five-fold risk,'' Dr Harmeet singh, who pioneered the study stated.

A high non-vegetarian diet, that is mutton and red meat also increases cancer risk. Surprisingly, although alcohol is associated with cancer, its risk factor for oesophageal cancer was not very high, according to the study.

People who consume fruits at least once a week have a five-fold protection against oesophageal cancer, the study suggested.

UNI