Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
New York Post
These ‘good for you’ foods may actually be to blame for troubling spike in colon cancer cases: doctor
By Tracy Swartz,
4 hours ago
The plot thickens — as colon cancer rates continue to rise in young adults, a Florida gastroenterologist is pointing the finger at emulsifiers in processed foods.
Dr. Maria Abreu, a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at the University of Miami, is trying to pinpoint the cause of the increase in colorectal cancer cases. WSVN As colon cancer rates continue to rise in young adults, a Florida gastroenterologist is pointing the finger at emulsifiers that can be found in foods such as yogurt. Vladimir Razgulyaev – stock.adobe.com
“Even the foods we think are good for us can be a problem,” Abreu continued. “Things like emulsifiers that are added in, things that are creamy, you know, the nonfat yogurts and all these things, really can change the gut microbiome very profoundly.”
CMC serves as a food thickener and stabilizer — it can be found in ice cream (where it’s used to slow melting), cakes, cookies, candies, juices, dairy and meat products, frozen foods and instant pasta, as well as in other items.
Polysorbate 80 is used in bread, cake mix, salad dressing, shortening oil and chocolate. Soaps, cosmetics and eye drops may also contain it.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide — an estimated 1 in 24 Americans will be diagnosed with it at some point, according to the Colon Cancer Coalition .
Our gut microbiome — the collection of bacteria, viruses and fungi in our digestive system — is believed to play a key role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer.
Abreu suspects chemicals and bacteria in processed food are causing a gut enzyme to flare up, leading to inflammation and, perhaps, cancer.
“Something in the microbiome has changed, and it’s setting in motion this chronic inflammation in the [gastrointestinal] tract,” she told WSVN.
Chronic inflammation is when your immune system is activated long after an injury or threat of illness has passed. The condition has been linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer, among other diseases.
If the food has an expiration date of next year, don’t eat it, Abreu says. zigres – stock.adobe.com
Abreu and her team are trying to develop testing to reveal intestinal inflammation.
“It will tell us this person has a leaky gut, their microbiome is abnormal. We need to try to address that,” she explained.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0