Extra cheese could raise bladder cancer risk
By IANSWednesday, February 9, 2011
LONDON - Beware, munching on extra helpings of cheese could up your risk of bladder cancer.
Scientists have found that the risk increased by more than 50 percent in those who ate more than 53 grams of cheese daily, roughly the same weight as a small chocolate bar.
But eating less than that did not appear to increase the dangers, the European Journal of Cancer reports.
These findings come from a study looking at how dietary fats influence a person’s chances of getting bladder cancer, according to the Daily Mail report quoting the journal.
Around 10,000 people a year in the UK fall victim to the disease and smokers are four times more likely to get it than non-smokers.
In the study, a team of Dutch and Belgian researchers set out to discover if saturated fats, such as those found in meat and dairy products, made cancer more likely while healthier fats, such as olive oil, offered some protection.
They studied the eating habits of 200 bladder cancer victims and compared them with 386 volunteers who had not developed tumours.
The results showed eating cheese had little effect unless the amount exceeded 53 grams a day. After that the risk went up by more than half.
