The Relative Importance of Mutagens and Carcinogens in the Diet

Known mutagens and carcinogens in the diet were compiled and the risk of cancer was estimated on the basis of average exposure levels in Switzerland and carcinogenic potencies from rodent bioassays. The analysis showed that, except for alcohol, the sum of all known dietary carcinogens could only explain a few percent of the cancer deaths attributed by epidemiologists to dietary factors. The discrepancy was explained by a “carcinogenicity” of excess macronutrients. This hypothesis was based on an evaluation of dietary restriction experiments in rats and mice, where a dramatic reducing effect on spontaneous tumour formation was seen. From these experiments, a "carcinogenic potency" was deduced for food in excess (TD₅₀ approximately 16 g/kg per day). Overnutrition in Switzerland was converted into excess food intake and the cancer risk estimated on the basis of the TD₅₀ value. The resulting risk of 60,000 cases per one million lives would allow to explain by overnutrition almost all "diet-related" cancer deaths in humans.