Overcooked food increases cancer risk in women

London, Dec 3 (UNI) The next time when you visit a restaurant, just control your temptation of biting in a grilled sandwich or picking up a packet of french fries as these delicious but overcooked food can be an open invitation to cancer in women.

A new research has found that a common chemical, acrylamide, produced on frying, roasting or grilling can double the risk of cancer in women.

The research has shown that acrylamide is found in cooked foods such as bread, breakfast cereals, coffee and also meat and potatoes which had been fried, baked, roasted, grilled or barbecued, the Daily Telegraph reported today.

The Dutch study found that women who absorbed more acrylamide were twice as likely to develop ovarian or womb cancer as those who ingested a smaller amount.

The higher amount eaten by the women involved was the equivalent to a single packet of crisps, half a pack of biscuits, or a portion of chips a day.

The study has established a direct link between consumption of the chemical and the incidence of ovarian and womb cancer.

The report relied on the Netherlands Cohort Study, which involved 120,000 people aged between 55 and 70, of whom about 62,000 of them women.

At the beginning of the study, participants completed a questionnaire that was used to estimate their acrylamide intake.

The participants were followed up through the Dutch cancer registries and after 11 years, 327 had developed endometrial (womb) cancer, 300 were diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 1,835 suffered breast cancer.

The study revealed that women who had eaten 40mg of acrylamides a day (found, for example in a 32g pack of crisps) had double the risk of endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer than women in the lowest category.

There was no link found to breast cancer.

Taking into view the risk factors involved by eating such overcooked food, the EU has now advised people to avoid burnt toast or golden brown chips.

They have also recommended eating home-cooked meals which contain much lower amounts of the chemical than processed products, fast food and restaurant meals.

UNI