No Link Between Some 1)High-Carbohydrate Foods and Cancer

Broadcast: Jan 30 2003

 

Researchers say there appears to be no link between a substance found in some high-carbohydrate foods and the development of some types of cancer.

U.S. and Swedish researchers compared the diets of 1,000 people with ^2）colon, ^3）bladder and ^4）kidney cancer with the diets of nearly 550 healthy individuals.

Researchers looked at how much potato chips, french fries, bread and certain types of cereal¹ they consumed². Those are all foods found to contain higher levels of ^5）acrylamide. The investigators³ then compared those who ate foods containing a lot of acrylamide to those who consumed less of the substance.

Lorelei Mucci of Harvard University's Department of Epidemiology in Boston is the study's lead author. The results are published in the current issue of the British Journal⁴ of Cancer.

"We found that none of the food items that have high or medium levels of acrylamide seem to increase the risk of cancer," she said. "And also, the total acrylamide dose⁵ that someone takes in through their diets was not associated with any excess⁶ risk of these four cancers."

Swedish researchers sparked⁷ international alarm last year, when they announced that they had found high levels of acrylamide in certain foods. Researchers say acrylamide can cause cancer in animals, raising concern that it could cause cancer in humans.

Scientists say the substance is produced when starchy foods, such as potatoes, are cooked at very high temperatures, such as frying. But Ms. Mucci said her study suggests acrylamide may not be as harmful as first thought.

"... At least not in the doses that people are taking in through the diet. So, probably, what's happening is that, even though you're taking in acrylamide through your diet, the levels are low enough ... that you are able to effectively detoxify it," she explained.

But Ms. Mucci says she would like to see further study of acrylamide and its possible links to other cancers.

Jessica Berman VOA news, Washington.

 

1)    High-Carbohydrate Foods含糖高的食品，碳水化合物

2)    colon[kEu5lEun] n. [医]结肠

3)    bladder[5blAdE]n.膀胱, [医]水泡；起泡

4)    kidney[5kidni]n.肾

5)    acrylamide [7Akri5lAmaid]丙烯酰胺

 

1 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

2 consumed   

v.消耗( consume的过去式和过去分词 )；烧毁；大吃；使充满（强烈的感情）

参考例句：

• Arguing about details consumed many hours of the committee's valuable time. 争论细节问题耗费了委员会数小时宝贵的时间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fire had consumed half the forest away before it was stopped. 大火在熄灭之前毁掉了树林的一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

5 dose   

n.(药的)剂量，一服；v.给(药)；(给…)服药

参考例句：

• In the accident,the workers received a heavy dose of radiation.在那次事故中，工人受到大剂量的辐射。
• He gave me a dose of medicine for my cold.他给我开了一剂治感冒的药。

6 excess   

n.过量，过度；超越；adj.过量的，附加的

参考例句：

• He advised his son never to spend in excess of his income.他劝儿子开支不可超过收入。
• You're too fat;try and run off all those excess pounds.你太胖了，要跑跑步减肥。

7 sparked   

发出火星，发出闪光（spark的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The incident sparked off a whole series of events that nobody had foreseen. 那一事件引发出一连串谁都没有料到的事。
• The trouble was sparked off by an apparently harmless phrase. 这场麻烦是由一句明显无恶意的话引起的。