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Last Updated: Apr 16, 2008 - 5:52:06 PM |
SATURDAY April 12, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Women who have high intake of trans fat may have to face an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The study reported by European researchers showed women with highest blood levels of trans-fats in their blood were about twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those with the lowest levels.
For the study, Veronique Chajes of the French national scientific research center at the University of Paris-South and colleagues analyzed blood samples from 1995 through 1998 from 25,000 women and followed them for years to see if there was an association between trans fat and breast cancer risk.
During the follow-up, 363 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. Women with breast cancer tended to have higher levels of trans fat in their blood, the researchers found.
The researchers also found women with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids were not less likely to have breast cancer. Omega-3 fatty acids are believed to have anti-inflammation properties and may help ward off cardiovascular disease.
In addition, obesity and diets with high fat were associated with higher risk of breast cancer.
Trans fats are synthetic or artificial fats, which are converted from natural forms of vegetable oil through a chemical process called partial hydrogenation. Trans fats are widely used in processed foods to give a food unique texture and flavor and long shelf life.
Trans fats are initially created to replace saturated fat in hopes to reduce the negative impact of saturated fat on cardiovascular health.
Studies have showed trans fats are worse than saturated fat and they increase not only bad cholesterol, but also reducing good cholesterol in the blood. Harvard scientists have attributed 100,000 deaths a year in the United States to use of trans fats.
The association between trans fat in the blood and risk of breast cancer has not been extensively studied before.
Trans fat is widely present in processed food and foods served at restaurants. In the U.S., trans fat needs to be labeled for processed food. But the regulation allows food processors to claim “zero trans fat” when one serving of the food contains no more than half gram of trans fat.
"At this stage, we can only recommend limiting the consumption of processed foods, the source of industrially produced trans-fatty acid," the researchers wrote.
The current study is not a trial, meaning that association does not mean that trans fat definitely is a cause for the increased risk of breast cancer although the possibility can not be excluded either, a scientist affiliated with foodconsumer.org commented.
But many experts believe that there is no safe threshold for trans fat and consumption of any amount may have an effect on human health.
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