Certain types of cooking oils may be causing an increase in colon cancers among young Americans, a government-funded study suggests.
Consuming large amounts of seed oils (including sunflower, canola, corn, and grape seeds) has long been linked to inflammation in the body.
But now, a study analyzing the tumors of more than 80 colon cancer patients has found that they may also 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 produced when the body breaks down seed oils.
These lipids are thought to be dangerous in two ways: they promote inflammation that helps cancers grow and they prevent the body from fighting tumors.
Researchers urge people to switch from seed oils and focus on oils with omega-3 fatty acids, such as olive and avocado oil.
The top U.S. cancer and heart disease agencies say there is no evidence that moderate amounts of seed oils contribute to those conditions. But there has been a growing movement against them due to studies suggesting they cause inflammation and increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has declared that Americans are being “unknowingly poisoned by them.”
A study by Florida researchers suggests that seed oils and other ultra-processed foods could trigger inflammation and lead to an increase in colon cancers.
The findings come at a time when colon cancer rates have increased among young Americans.
Diagnoses among people under age 50, who are classified as early-onset, are expected to increase by 90 percent in people ages 20 to 34 between 2010 and 2030.
No cause has been identified, but ultra-processed foods are thought to play a role because they contain fats, sugars, and other chemicals that cause inflammation in the digestive tract.
Authorities such as the American Heart Association also suggest that there is no evidence that seed oils in moderate amounts cause inflammation.
In fact, the agency said earlier this year that “there is no reason to avoid seed oils and there are many reasons to eat them,” as they could reduce cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke.
But the University of South Florida team, which conducted the latest study, said Americans consume too many of “these bad oils.”
The average American consumes nearly 100 pounds of seed oils per year, by some estimates, about 1,000 times more than in the 1950s. Seed oils became popular in the United States after World War II thanks to advances agricultural.
The latest study, published Tuesday in the gut magazineanalyzed 81 tumor samples from colorectal cancer patients between 30 and 85 years old.
Just over half of the patients had stage three or four cancer, while a third were at stage two.
The team found that colorectal cancer patients had significantly higher levels of bioactive lipids than healthier fats in their tumors.
Carly Barrett, from Kentucky, was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 24 after detecting blood in her stool and suffering abdominal pain.
The findings come as doctors race to find the cause of rising colon cancer in young, fit Americans like Jelena Tompkins (left) and Joe Faratzis (right).
Seed oils naturally contain fatty acids, including omega-6 and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
These fatty acids are converted into bioactive lipids through a complex biochemical process in the plant seed.
When consumed, the acids are synthesized in a part of the plant cell called the plastid, which makes and stores food.
This causes longer chain fatty acids called arachidonic acid to form. Enzymes then convert arachidonic acid into eicosanoids, a type of bioactive lipid.
Finding bioactive lipids in the colon suggests that the body has metabolized them, which occurs when eating foods containing omega-6 fatty acids. These have been linked to inflammation of the colon when consumed in excess.
In the case of colon cancer, inflammation causes cells to constantly divide and regenerate in the colon, making them more prone to cancer-causing errors, such as mutations.
Chronic inflammation also suppresses the immune system’s ability to destroy those abnormal cells.
Dr. Timothy Yeatman, author of the study and professor of surgery at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, said, “It is well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies.
“Now we see this inflammation in colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that does not heal: if your body lives on ultra-processed foods daily, its ability to heal that wound decreases due to the inflammation and suppression of the immune system that ultimately allowing the cancer to grow.’
The Florida researchers said that, given the findings, treatment focused on resolving inflammation with healthy, unprocessed fats like fish oil could help restore the body’s healing mechanisms.
Dr Yeatman said: “This has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment, going beyond drugs to harness natural healing processes.”
“It is a vital step in addressing chronic inflammation and preventing disease before it starts.”