- Researchers report that high-fat diets may alter the gut microbe and increase the risk of colorectal cancer.
- They say a study involving mice indicated that high-fat diets can cause changes in the gut bacteria and alter digestive molecules known as bile acids.
- Experts say you can reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by adopting healthy dietary practices and limiting foods high in fat content.
Obesity is a known risk factor for colorectal cancer and new research indicates that a high-fat diet can trigger changes in the digestive system that can increase inflammation and raise the prevalence of this type of cancer.
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It also identifies a key protein in the gut that could be targeted in anti-cancer therapies.
“This provides a more detailed explanation of how the gut microbiome may be altered resulting in an increase in inflammation, which is one of current explanations for the development and progression of colorectal cancer,” Dr. Anton Bilchik, the chief of medicine and the director of the gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary program at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California, told Medical News Today.
In their study, researchers at the Salk Institute and the University of California San Diego fed lab mice with a genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer a high-fat diet.
They tracked changes in their gut bacteria and altered digestive molecules called bile acids, which are produced by the liver and help digest food and absorb cholesterol, fats, and nutrients.
The study authors reported that a fatty diet increased the levels of certain gut bacteria that, in turn, altered bile acids in a way that increased inflammation and inhibited the replenishment of intestinal stem cells, which help to repair cellular…
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