Diet and breast cancer

Both diet and nutrition have been studied in relationship with breast cancer risk, as the great variation among different countries in breast cancer incidence could possibly be explained through the inflammatory and immune response, as well as antioxidant intake, among others.To date, no clear association with diet beyond overweight and weight gain has been found, except for alcohol consumption. Nonetheless, the small number of studies done in middle to low income countries where variability of food intake is wider,is beginning to show interesting results.

Tanto la dieta como la nutrición han sido estudiadas en relación con el riesgo de cáncer de mama, dada la gran variación de incidencia de cáncer entre países, y la posibilidad de explicarla a través de la respuesta inflamatoria o inmune, así como ingesta de antioxidantes,entre otros.Hasta la fecha, ninguna asociación clara con la dieta ha sido encontrada, excepto para el consumo de alcohol, más allá del sobrepeso y del incremento de peso. Sin embargo, los estudios que se están realizando en países de mediano a bajo nivel de ingresos, con mayor variabilidad de ingesta de alimentos, comienzan a mostrar resultados interesantes.

The importance of dietary carbohydrates

Forty years ago carbohydrates (CHO) were regarded as a simple energy source whereas they are now recognized as important food components. The human diet contains a wide range of CHO, the vast majority of which are of plant origin. Modern techniques based on chemical classification of dietary CHO replaced the traditional by difference measurement. They provide a logical basis for grouping into categories of specific nutritional importance. The physiological effects of dietary CHO are highly dependent on the rate and extent of digestion and absorption in the small intestine and fermentation in the large intestine, interactions which promote human health. Current knowledge of the fate of dietary CHO means that the potentially undesirable properties of many modern foods could be altered by using processing techniques that yield foods with more intact plant cell wall structures. Such products would more closely resemble the foods in the pre-agriculture diet with respect to the rate of digestion and absorption of CHO in the small intestine. The potentially detrimental physiological consequences of eating sugars and starch that are rapidly digested and absorbed in the small intestine suggest that, as fibre, the form, as well as the amount of starch should be considered. Increasing consumer awareness of the relationship between diet and health has led to demands for more widespread nutrition labelling. The entry carbohydrate is required in most countries, and the value is usually obtained by difference and used in the calculation of energy content. However, the value provides no nutritional information per se. Food labels should provide values that aid consumers in selecting a healthy diet.