Wholegrain intake and cancer risk
Guri Skeie et. al., Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
Health benefits of wholegrain products have long been known and their consumption is therefore internationally recommended as part of a healthy diet. They hold a unique constellation of important nutrients and other biologically active compounds that may elicit their health benefits either individually, in combination and/or synergistically. There is strong epidemiological evidence for a preventive effect of this food group against the development of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. The significance of eating wholegrain foods for various cancers is, however, an area about which less is known. Many of the studies published so far on the wholegrain-cancer relation have been based on populations with very low intakes of wholegrain products rather than high consumption populations like the Nordic, consequently making is less likely to detect an association, if one exists.
Using data from the HELGA cohort including dietary and lifestyle information from Danes, Swedes and Norwegian, we wish to undercover in depth the role of wholegrains (total as well as specific type) in relation to risk of several cancers. Focus will primarily be on the more common cancer types such as cancer of the breast, colorectum and prostate, but the relation between wholegrain consumption and risk of other minor cancer types will also be evaluated when possible.