What I read earlier today took precedence over everything else. I mean…HUGE SHOCKER! Or so it seemed, at first…

A blog reader sent me the link to a VERY interesting article written by myeloma specialist Dr. Brian Durie titled: “Can Cookies Cause Myeloma?” (published ON my birthday, too!!! Argh!!!). I urge everyone to read it. It provides heaps of food for thought: http://goo.gl/Nfznb

But…cookies? Surely…NOT COOKIES!!!

I was absolutely stunned. I mean, okay, I’ve known for years about acrylamide, a well-known carcinogen that gets released whenever we fry, roast, bake or even grill starchy foods at high temperatures…In fact, I began researching and writing about this noxious chemical in 2008 (for more info and links, have a look at my March 20 and March 30 2008 posts…). 

I’ve also known that there are a few things we can do to inhibit the formation of acrylamide…For example, we can add chopped-up rosemary to our fried, baked (etc.) starchy foods. I even add rosemary to my pizza dough. Anyway, if you would like more info on rosemary and acrylamide, here’s the direct link to my March 20 2008 post: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/2008/03/20/what-me-worried-hah/ 

And Dr. Durie provides us with a helpful link to a “how to limit acrylamide” article: http://goo.gl/vZGs3

However, this is the FIRST TIME I’d read about a possible DIRECT link between the acrylamide released by cookies (etc.) and myeloma. So, after devouring Dr. Durie’s article, I went to the source–the Netherlands study itself: http://goo.gl/YpEY1

Well, phew, the news isn’t THAT bad, is it? Or rather, let me rephrase that: the news seems to be fine for women, much less so for men. The authors in fact found that acrylamide may increase the risk of multiple myeloma and follicular lymphoma in men. No association found for women. (I need a cookie to recover from the shock, now… 😉 )

Here is a possibly important quote from the Dutch study: Acrylamide intake was estimated from a food frequency questionnaire combined with acrylamide data for Dutch foods. Okay. Dutch foods. Not Italian. Can I sigh with relief? Probably not… 

And in fact Dr. Durie asks: Can what we eat or drink cause cancer? Excellent question. I think the answer is a resounding YES. And those of us who already have cancer should avoid eating foods that we know are chock-full of noxious chemicals. Oh, and beverages, too…sodas, etc. Without going crazy, of course. I mean, stress is bad for myeloma, too! Eh. 

I’d like to end today’s post by thanking Dr. Durie (whom I met a few years ago here in Florence at a MM patient/doctor conference) and saying that I’m really REALLY REALLY happy that our myeloma specialists are beginning to pay attention to the importance of DIET…A huge step forward in the right direction. 

Just my opinion, as usual…