Does eating white rice cause breast cancer? Agri-Food Department: Don’t let white rice take the blame

According to media reports citing foreign news, "If you love to eat white rice, your breast cancer risk will increase by 30%." The Council of Agriculture's Agricultural Food Agency stated that after verification, the report content was a study and analysis of the relationship between glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL) and carbohydrates and breast cancer. Overall, it has no relationship with breast cancer. Only postmenopausal women who have a negative response to estrogen have a higher risk of breast cancer. Moreover, the research report did not point out specific carbohydrates such as white rice, so don’t let white rice take the blame.

The Council of Agriculture stated that rice is the most complete source of nutrition and the public should not ignore it. (Photo courtesy of the Council of Agriculture)

The Agri-Food Agency pointed out that the report was published in the Journal of the American College of Nutritional Medicine and was mainly based on the analysis of data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition EPIC, which was conducted in 10 European countries including Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The study was based on 11,576 breast cancer cases among 334,849 cancer patients in the database, and on the general dietary habits survey of these countries, to analyze the relationship between glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL) and carbohydrates and breast cancer; factors such as smoking, alcohol, and hormone use were not ruled out.

The conclusion pointed out that overall, glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL) and carbohydrates have no relationship with breast cancer. Only in postmenopausal women who are estrogen-negative, those with high glycemic load (GL) and higher carbohydrate intake have a higher risk of breast cancer.

The conclusion of this report has pointed out that people with high glycemic load and high carbohydrate intake are only at higher risk for certain groups. In recent years, the intake of carbohydrates such as rice by the Chinese people has been insufficient, and they have ignored the fact that rice has the most complete source of nutrition, with carbohydrates accounting for 73~75%, protein accounting for 6.5~7%, and fat accounting for 1.5~2%. It also contains a variety of rich minerals, dietary fiber, and B vitamins, which can provide the main source of daily energy and fully provide all the nutrients needed by the body. In order to obtain balanced nutrition and reduce the burden on the body, more domestic rice should be chosen.

If you are more sensitive to changes in the glycemic index (GI), you can also choose brown rice to maintain your health if you consume it correctly and in moderation.