Red Meat Ups
Kidney Cancer Risk
Tue, 21 Apr 2009
Diets rich in red meat have long been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and colon cancer, a new study adds kidney cancer to the list.
Renal cell carcinoma (also called renal adenocarcinoma or hypernephroma) is the most common type of kidney cancer. The condition is more prevalent in 40 to 60 year-old men.
Smoking, obesity, lack of physical exercise, and occupational exposure are considered as the condition's main risk factors.
However, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, eating too much red meat, white bread and potatoes places individuals at a higher risk of developing renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer.
The high vegetable content of a diet is believed to have a protective effect against this cancer. Such a relationship however was not reported for fruits and dairy food.
The high glycemic index -- an indicator showing how quickly blood glucose rises after eating a particular food -- of these foods affects insulin resistance as well as the insulin-like growth factors, leading to increased kidney cancer risk.
Women are reported to be more influenced by this effect.
Scientists therefore urge adopting a healthy diet rich in vegetables and low in red meat with the aim of tackling various health conditions including renal cell carcinoma.