Chinese women who consume a traditional diet rich in refined white rice and other starchy foods that stimulate blood sugar spikes do not appear to be at increased risk for colon cancer, according to a new study. The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to the data on whether foods with a high “glycemic index” are associated with an increased risk of colon cancer. In the study, researchers followed 73,000 middle-aged and older Chinese women for more than 10 years to examine the relationship between dietary habits and colon cancer risk. At the start of the study, the subjects were cancer-free women aged 40-70 years who had completed a detailed dietary questionnaire. The results of the study showed that 475 women were diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer during the 10-year study. The researchers divided the subjects into five groups based on dietary glycemic load and found no evidence of an increased risk of colorectal cancer in women associated with sugar load. Similarly, there was no significant association between rice consumption and colorectal cancer. The researchers noted that, nevertheless, further studies should be conducted, including studies of men, other carbohydrates and other factors.