Tengrinews.kz - Certain types of cooking oils used by millions of people may be fueling colon cancer, an American government-funded study suggests, according to Daily Mail.
Researchers have linked oils such as sunflower, canola, corn and grapeseed to inflammation in the body. The study analyzed tumors from more than 80 colon cancer patients and found that they may increase the risk of one of the fastest-growing forms of the disease.
The researchers found that the patients' tumors had high levels of bioactive lipids, microscopic fatty compounds that are produced when the body breaks down vegetable oils. These lipids are thought to be dangerous in two ways: They promote inflammation, which helps cancer grow, and they interfere with the body's ability to fight tumors.
They are urging people to ditch vegetable oils and instead focus on oils with omega-3 fatty acids, such as olive and avocado oils.
America's main cancer and heart disease bodies say there's no evidence that moderate amounts of vegetable oils contribute to these conditions. But there's a growing movement against them because of research suggesting they cause inflammation and raise the risk of conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, President-Elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said Americans are "unknowingly poisoned by them."
The American Heart Association also suggests there is no evidence that seed oils in moderation cause inflammation. The agency said earlier this year that there is "no reason to avoid seed oils and plenty of reasons to eat them" because they can lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke.
But the team from the University of South Florida that conducted the latest study said Americans are consuming too many of “these bad oils.”
By some estimates, the average American consumes nearly 100 pounds of seed oils a year, about 1,000 times more than they did in the 1950s. Seed oils became popular in the United States after World War II, thanks to advances in agriculture.
Dr Timothy Yeatman, study author and professor of surgery at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, also confirmed this theory.
"It is well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies. We now see this inflammation in the colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that won’t heal – if your body is living off of daily ultra-processed foods, its ability to heal that wound decreases due to the inflammation and suppression of the immune system that ultimately allows the cancer to grow," he said.
Florida researchers said that given their findings, treatments that target inflammation with unprocessed healthy fats like fish oil could help restore the body's healing mechanisms.
Author - Nuray Kapen
Read also: If a headache is a tumor or just a cold, neurologist explains
Kazakh scientists continue to conduct clinical trials of the developed anti-cancer drug.
