Many of the patients we provide hospice and palliative care for are battling cancer. While there are multiple causes of cancer, one recent study found how your diet directly influences your risk of certain types of cancer. Completed by a PhD student at NYU, research discovered certain foods that could triple the risk of developing prostate cancer, and other foods that help reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by two-thirds. Here's an overview of the study and its findings. 

Researchers in the health field have found repeatedly that health risks like heart disease, weight gain, and others can be directly tied to the over-consumption of refined, processed carbohydrates. Additionally, this study at NYU found that these unhealthy carbs also greatly increase the risk of prostate cancer. 

To reach this conclusion, data from 3100 individuals was collected by conducting questionnaires about each individual's eating habits. The food sources the individuals consumed were divided between glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL). 

GI is a measure of a carbohydrates quality, as determined by its impact on blood sugar levels compared to another food for a point of reference. 

GL is a measure of both the quality and the quantity of carbs found in a specific food. 

With these categories lined out for each individual's diet, researchers were able to find correlations between cancer rates, and the intake of carbs. Specifically, regular foods with a high GL led to an 88 percent higher risk of prostate cancer. 

Meanwhile, regular consumption of foods with a low GI was found to be associated with a 67 percent lower risk of breast cancer. 

This second, positive distinction stemmed from the discovery that females in the study with higher proportion of their total diet made up of carbs also had a lower occurrence of breast cancer. Those whose diets included the largest quantity of carbs also included the largest quantity of quality carbs like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.

This led to the conclusion that the type of carbs consumed is more important than the sheer volume. While eating a diet filled with healthy carbs can help to lower the risk of many health issues, consuming unhealthy carbs like pizza, burgers, and processed lunch foods has the opposite effect.

Changing your diet now could very well help you avoid cancer. 

If you or a loved one are already battling this debilitating disease and want to explore care options, contact us at Cura-HPC at (800)797-3839.