Dietary Cadmium Linked to Breast Cancer Risk

A new study links cadmium - a toxic chemical found in farm fertilizers and widely dispersed in the environment - to an increased risk of breast cancer in women.

Women in the study who were exposed to the highest levels of cadmium in their diet were 21 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women who ingested lower levels of the heavy metal, according toScience Daily. The study first published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Foods considered healthy - such as whole grains, potatoes, and other vegetables - were the primary source of cadmium in the diets of the women studied, according to researchers. The study, conducted by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, followed nearly 60,000 post-menopausal women for more than 12 years. Using a food questionnaire, researchers estimated the dietary cadmium exposure for the participants.

Interestingly, the study also found that women who ate more whole grains and vegetables faced a lower risk of breast cancer than those who ate other foods with cadmium.

"It's possible that this healthy diet to some extent can counteract the negative effect of cadmium, but our findings need to be confirmed with further studies," said Agneta Åkesson, professor at Karolinska and co-author of the study. "It is, however, important that the exposure to cadmium from all food is low."

Every year, thousands of people are injured by consuming unsafe food products tainted by harmful chemical substances.

If you or a loved one were harmed by an unsafe food product, contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation.