Study Shows Link Between Chemical in Fatty Foods and Cancer

Maastricht, Netherlands (AHN) - A University of Maastricht study identified the possibility of fatty foods aiding in cancer development, though a certain chemical found in the cooked food. The study revealed that women are more at risk, as the chemical was identified to be a possible cause of ovarian and womb cancer.

The study used 120,000 volunteers, 62,000 of whom were women, and observed them for 11 years. At the end of the term, 327 developed womb cancer, and 300 developed ovarian cancer.

The results, upon analysis, revealed that the subjects who ate 40mg of acrylamide a day were twice as likely to develop the cancers, compared to those who did not ingest as much of the chemical.

The study's results have been taken into consideration by the Food Standards Agency, calling the attention of the public to avoid foods such as burn toast or golden brown chips, which the EU had identified as having high levels of acrylamide.

An EU spokesman, based on the support of the findings, advised the public to "avoid overcooking when baking, frying or toasting carbohydrate-rich foods."

The BBC quoted the spokesperson, who furthered "french fries and roast potatoes should be cooked to a golden yellow rather than a golden brown color."

However there was the statement that acrylamide cannot be completely avoided, as reported by the Telegraph.

"Since acrylamide forms naturally in a wide variety of cooked foods," explained the EU spokesman, "it is not possible to have a healthy balanced diet that avoids it."

Dr. Lesley Walker of Cancer Research UK also pointed out that the cancers cannot be completely linked to just acrylamides, as they may also have been the results of other harmful components.

"Women shouldn't be unduly worried by this news," Dr. Walker said. "It's not easy to separate out one component of the diet from all the others when studying the complex diets of ordinary people."