Alert, High Carbohydrates Increase Lung Cancer Risk

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Although the main cause of lung cancer is smoking, but now there is a statement that from food can cause lung cancer, especially in the passive smoking group. Is it true? In fact, in one day we can consume at least 3 times the staple food which is a source of carbohydrates. Are we at risk for lung cancer?

Besides smoking, carbohydrates are one of the risk factors for lung cancer

Smoking is the main reason for lung cancer, because as much as 85% more than the total incidence of lung cancer is caused by this habit. Currently new research has emerged that says high carbohydrate consumption can be one of the risk factors for lung cancer in the group of people who do not smoke, or passive smoking.

A study published in the Cancer Epidemiology Journal, Biomarkers, and Prevention suggests that the level of the glycemic index in carbohydrates has an effect on the incidence of lung cancer. The study involved 1,905 people in Texas who had just been diagnosed with lung cancer, and 2,413 healthy people. Then the experts in the study measured the nutritional status of each individual and looked at his daily diet. The diet is seen in terms of what is eaten, how to cook it, and how much carbohydrate is eaten in one day and calculates the levels of the glycemic index of each food eaten.

Then the researcher divided the total respondents into 5 groups based on the level of the glycemic index. The first group is the group with the lowest level of food consumption, the glycemic index, while the fifth group is the most frequent group and consume the most foods containing high glycemic index. At the end of the study, it was found that the 5th group had a 49% greater risk of developing lung cancer compared to the other four groups.

Not all carbohydrates trigger the risk of lung cancer

The glycemic index is a measure that states how quickly a food is converted into sugar in the body. The higher the level of the glycemic index in a food, the easier the food is converted into blood sugar which is then used as energy in the body. For example, sugar has a glycemic index of 100, meaning that if we consume sugar, it will be easily converted into blood sugar and energy in the body. In this case the hormone insulin plays an important role.

Until now, it was unclear what the relationship between eating high carbohydrates can cause lung cancer. But the presumption that currently exists is, often consumption of food sources of carbohydrates which contains a high glycemic index will cause insulin to continue working without stopping. The body produces insulin continuously, but blood sugar levels do not also decrease due to the food we eat. This results in insulin being a resistance and not working properly. Insulin resistance is at risk of causing various diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, and cancer.

In the research described earlier, it was found that the group that consumed foods containing the glycemic index had a 92% chance of forming squamous cell carcinoma in the lungs. This type of lung cancer is caused by the growth of cancer cells that grow in bronchial epithelial tissue of the lungs and are more common in men. Of the total lung cancers, there are 25-30% of events caused by squamous cell carcinoma.

Does that mean we can't eat carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are the main energy source for the body so we cannot, and are not recommended, to stop eating carbohydrates at all. In addition, the risk of people consuming high carbohydrates for lung cancer is not as big as the risk in people who have a smoking habit. Therefore, the most important thing is to consume food according to needs, and not in excessive portions, to reduce the risk of various complications such as lung cancer. Exercise is also very important to maintain fitness and help regulate blood sugar levels.

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