The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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645 - ‘Dietary acrylamide and cancer risk: An updated meta-analysis’. The International Journal of Cancer. 136, 2912-2922

Reference Number: 645

Year: 2015

Authors: Claudio Pelucchi1, Cristina Bosetti1, Carlotta Galeone1and Carlo La Vecchia2

Link: Link to original paper

Health: Cancer | General health

Nutrition: Carbohydrates

Summary

The debate on the potential carcinogenic effect of dietary acrylamide is open. In consideration of the recent findings from large prospective investigations, we conducted an updated meta-analysis on acrylamide intake and the risk of cancer at several sites. Up to July 2014, we identified 32 publications. We performed meta-analyses to calculate the summary relative risk (RR) of each cancer site for the highest versus lowest level of intake and for an increment of 10 µg/day of dietary acrylamide, through fixed-effects or random-effects models, depending on the heterogeneity test. Fourteen cancer sites could be examined. No meaningful associations were found for most cancers considered. The summary RRs for high versus low acrylamide intake were 0.87 for oral and pharyngeal, 1.14 for esophageal, 1.03 for stomach, 0.94 for colorectal, 0.93 for pancreatic, 1.10 for laryngeal, 0.88 for lung, 0.96 for breast, 1.06 for endometrial, 1.12 for ovarian, 1.00 for prostate, 0.93 for bladder and 1.13 for lymphoid malignancies. The RR was of borderline significance only for kidney cancer (RR?=?1.20; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.00–1.45). All the corresponding continuous estimates ranged between 0.95 and 1.03, and none of them was significant. Among never-smokers, borderline associations with dietary acrylamide emerged for endometrial (RR?=?1.23; 95% CI, 1.00–1.51) and ovarian (RR?=?1.39; 95% CI, 0.97–2.00) cancers. This systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies indicates that dietary acrylamide is not related to the risk of most common cancers. A modest association for kidney cancer, and for endometrial and ovarian cancers in never smokers only, cannot be excluded.

 

Significance to the baker: 

Acrylamide is formed in a variety of foods, particularly bread and other starchy foods. Some evidence suggests it may cause cancer. How dangerous is dietary acrylamide? This study collated data from 32 earlier projects evaluating the relationship between acrylamide consumed in foods and cancer risk. Of fourteen cancer sites represented, only kidney cancer showed a possible increase in risk associated with dietary acrylamide. When they narrowed the analysis to people who had never smoked, dietary acrylamide appeared to slightly increase the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer as well.

Take a look at our courses at The Sourdough School

All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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