Cancer Red meat, milk boost cancer risk
By David Liu Ph.D.
Nov 13, 2008 - 5:16:06 PM
If you like the article, could you please do us a favor? Just tell Google News Services that you like foodconsumer.org included in Google News Services. Inclusion in googlenewsservices means many more people can read articles like this. Thanks.
------
Thursday Nov 13, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- People who use red meat and milk may not want to hear it
that eating these foods increases risk of cancer. But a new study has already found
a mechanism that explains why human consumption of red meat and milk products
increases risk of cancerous tumors.
The study published online this week in advance of print
publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found
a molecule produced after consumption of these foods induces inflammation that
boosts the cancer risk.
The molecule of concern, according to Ajit Varki, M.D., coauthor
of the study, of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and
colleagues, was a non-human cellular molecule called N-glycolylneuraminic acid
(Neu5Gc).
Neu5Gc is a type of glycan, a sugary compound, which is
not naturally present in human bodies.
But
this molecule can be incorporated into human tissues as a result of eating red
meat.
When it gets into human tissues,
the body develops anti-Neu5Gc antibodies, an immune response that could lead to
chronic inflammation and boost cancer growth.