Eating Red meat encourages cancer growth In the body according to some demonstrations explained by scientists. Over the course of several years, researchers have collected links between red meat consumption and cancer, this however does not mean that they are certain because they are still unpacking and learning about the processes that may have been promoting this relationship.
From a recent study that is published in BMC Medicine, however, researchers argue that some portion of the answer may be explained by the interaction that our immune system.
Previous researches have already made it pretty clear that our nutrition and dietary habits have a significant effect on our bodies making them more prone to conditions of health that include the likes of cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.
In this regard, food items like red meat as well as other processed meats have garnered a good amount of attention because these types of meats indicate an added risk promoting cancer in the body. How they influence the body to do such a thing however can still be debated, explain the researchers on the latest study.
Also Read: Breast Cancer Awareness or Publicity? Zoe Saldana Dons a Pink Bikini to ‘Honor’ Pink-tober
While they acknowledge that there have been several explanations based on the mechanisms that might take place after consuming red meat. These explanations include things like the fat in diets, nitrates, nitrites, and heme iron among others but none appear to refer specifically to the consumption of dairy or red meat for that matter.
The authors do point some evidence at a type of carbohydrate that comes from food that is made from mammals, as a possible risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer.
The Neu5Gc, the carbohydrate in question is found in abundance in food products such as dairy and red meat. It can be found in some fish but occurs at a very level, it is however not found at all in poultry.
Humans are not able to break down and synthesize this carbohydrate so when we eat it, little by little it can build up on the surfaces of cells and cover them. When this happens and cells from our immune system realize that a nonhuman material is covering up cells in the body, it makes the body create antibodies built specifically to target Neu5Gc. Studies have also proven that in our bodies we have a vast range of such antibodies.
According to evidence found by scientists, if an animal model experiences prolonged contact with these antibodies, the model was found to experience not only inflammation in the body but also cancer. Still, however, it is unclear what level of these antibodies are promoted in the body after consuming mammalian products.
Also Read: Report Shows A Lack of Heart Disease Diagnosis is Causing Avoidable Heart Failures
When a person consumes red meat, their body accumulates anti-Neu5Gc antibodies and this attacks the carbohydrate on the surfaces of the cells that it coats, therefore causing inflammation. According to experts, this is what promotes cancer and possibly aggravates it.
This means that eating products like cheese and red meat encourages cancer growth likelihood. This recent research hopes to provide better tools for future studies to assess which amount of this carbohydrate can cause harm in a person’s diet and in doing so help create tailored recommendations for those most at risk.
