Meat, Refined Flour, High-calorie Drinks Can Trigger Colorectal Cancer

Certain foods such as meats, refined grains, and high-calorie beverages have the potential to cause inflammation. A diet which is revolved around these food items is associated with increased risk of developing colorectal cancer for men and women. Colorectal cancer is common cancer and inflammation is believed to play a role in the development of cancer. What people eat can influence inflammation in the body as measured by inflammatory biomarkers, so diet may be a modifiable risk factor to prevent colorectal cancer.

For the study, 121,050 male and female health care professionals were followed for 26 years in long-term studies and data from completed food questionnaires about what they ate was collected; data analysis was done in 2017.

Scores based on 18 food groups were characterized by their inflammatory potential and calculated from participants' food questionnaires administered every four years (exposure).

Higher scores reflecting inflammation-causing diets were associated with a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer in men and women; the risk appeared to be higher among overweight or obese men and lean women and among men and women not consuming alcohol.

This is an observational cohort study where people were followed over time. Because researchers are not intervening for purposes of the study they cannot control for all the natural differences that could explain the study findings.

Source-Eurekalert