Page 16 - HOSPITAAL

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 3 april 2018

Science Says: What we know about cancer risk and coffee

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE as teething biscuits and do much more harm than
AP Chief Medical Writer crackers. One brand of or- good to public health," by
Trouble is brewing for cof- ganic sweet potatoes test- confusing people into think-
fee lovers in California, ed as having 121 parts per ing risks from something like
where a judge ruled that billion. coffee are similar to those
sellers must post scary warn- WHAT'S THE RISK? from smoking, Giovannucci
ings about cancer risks. But The "probable" or "likely" said.
how frightened should we carcinogen label is based The International Food In-
be of a daily cup of joe? on studies of animals given formation Council and
Not very, some scientists high levels of acrylamide in Foundation, an organiza-
and available evidence drinking water. But people tion funded mostly by the
seem to suggest. and rodents absorb the food and beverage indus-
Scientific concerns about chemical at different rates try, says the law is confus-
coffee have eased in re- and metabolize it differ- ing the public because it
cent years, and many stud- ently, so its relevance to doesn't note levels of risk,
ies even suggest it can help human health is unknown. and adds that U.S. dietary
health. In this Sept. 22, 2017, file photo, a barista pours steamed milk A group of 23 scientists guidelines say up to five
"At the minimum, coffee is in a coffee at a cafe in Los Angeles. Superior Court Judge Elihu convened by the WHO's cups of coffee a day can
neutral. If anything, there Berle has ruled that California law requires coffee companies to cancer agency in 2016 be part of a healthy diet.
carry an ominous cancer warning label because of a chemical
is fairly good evidence of produced in the roasting process. looked at coffee — not Dr. Otis Brawley, the Ameri-
the benefit of coffee on Associated Press acrylamide directly — and can Cancer Society's chief
cancer," said Dr. Edward decided coffee was un- medical officer, said, "The
Giovannucci, a nutrition ex- what levels are safe or risky the diet, French fries, pota- likely to cause breast, pros- issue here is dose, and the
pert at the Harvard School for people. The U.S. Environ- to chips, crackers, cookies, tate or pancreatic cancer, amount of acrylamide
of Public Health. mental Protection Agency cereal and other high-car- and that it seemed to lower that would be included
The World Health Organi- sets acrylamide limits for bohydrate foods contain it the risks for liver and uterine in coffee, which is really
zation's cancer agency drinking water, but there as a byproduct of roasting, cancers. Evidence was in- very small, compared to
moved coffee off the "pos- aren't any for food. baking, toasting or frying. adequate to determine its the amount from smoking
sible carcinogen" list two "A cup of coffee a day, ex- Food and Drug Administra- effect on dozens of other tobacco. I don't think we
years ago, though it says posure probably is not that tion tests of acrylamide lev- cancer types. should be worried about a
evidence is insufficient to high," and probably should els found they ranged from THE CALIFORNIA LAW cup of coffee."
rule out any possible role. not change your habit, said 175 to 351 parts per billion Since 1986, businesses Amy Trenton-Dietz, public
The current flap isn't about Dr. Bruce Y. Lee of Johns (a measure of concentra- have been required to post health specialist at the Uni-
coffee itself, but a chemi- Hopkins Bloomberg School tion for a contaminant) for warnings about chemicals versity of Wisconsin-Mad-
cal called acrylamide (ah- of Public Health. "If you six brands of coffee tested; known to cause cancer or ison, said the California
KRILL-ah-mide) that's made drink a lot of cups a day, the highest was for one other health risks — more ruling contrasts with what
when the beans are roast- this is one of the reasons type of decaf coffee crys- than 900 substances are on science shows.
ed. Government agencies you might consider cutting tals. By comparison, French the state's list today — but "Studies in humans suggest
call it a probable or likely that down." fries at one fast food chain what's a "significant" risk is that if anything, coffee is
carcinogen, based on ani- Here's what's known about ranged from 117 to 313 arguable. protective for some types
mal research, and a group the risks. parts per billion, depend- Coffee sellers and other of cancer," she said. "As
sued to require coffee sell- THE CHEMICAL ing on the location tested. defendants in the lawsuit long as people are not put-
ers to warn of that under Start with the biggest Some commercial fries had that spurred Thursday's rul- ting a lot of sugar or sweet-
a California law passed by known risk factor for can- more than 1,000. ing have a couple weeks eners in, coffee, tea and
voters in 1986. cer — smoking — which Even some baby foods to challenge it or appeal. water are the best things for
The problem: No one knows generates acrylamide . In contain acrylamide, such The law "has potential to people to be drinking."q

Antacids, antibiotics for infants linked to later allergies

By CARLA K. JOHNSON Early use of antibiotics also military personnel and asthma, hay fever or other doubled; the chances of
AP Medical Writer raised the chances of aller- their families. A surprising 9 allergic diseases. The study developing a severe aller-
Infants who are given ant- gies in the study of nearly percent of the babies re- couldn't prove causes, but gic reaction called ana-
acids like Zantac or Pepcid 800,000 children. ceived antacids, reflecting the connection with ant- phylaxis or hay fever were
are more likely to develop Researchers combed the the popularity of treating acids and antibiotics was about 50 percent higher.
childhood allergies, per- health records of kids born reflux in infancy. striking. For babies who received
haps because these drugs between 2001 and 2013 Over four years, more than For children who received antibiotics, the chances
may alter their gut bacte- and covered by Tricare, half of all the children de- an antacid during their first doubled for asthma and
ria, a new large study sug- an insurance program for veloped allergies to foods six months, the chances of were at least 50 percent
gests. active duty and retired or medications, rashes, developing a food allergy higher for hay fever and
anaphylaxis.
The results were published
Monday in JAMA Pediat-
rics.
"These medicines are con-
sidered generally harmless
and something to try with
fussy babies who spit up a
lot," said lead researcher
Dr. Edward Mitre of the Uni-
formed Services University
in Bethesda, Maryland. q