Ultra-processed foods boost colorectal cancer risk, prevent cure: study

Ultra-processed foods like ice cream, chips and soda fuel colorectal cancer risk — and prevent the body from fighting cancer, a new study finds.

“Cancer is like a chronic wound that won’t heal — if your body lives on ultra-processed foods every day, its ability to heal that wound is diminished,” said Dr. Timothy Yeatman, professor of surgery at the University of South Florida. (USF) Morsani College of Medicine.

Yeatman blames UPFs for causing harmful inflammation and suppressing the immune system, allowing cancer to thrive. In their study published Tuesday, Yeatman and his colleagues suggest using antiretroviral drugs to reverse inflammation and restore the body’s healing mechanisms to pave the way for more effective colorectal cancer treatment.

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to disease or injury. Chronic inflammation is when the response remains active even after the threat has passed. It can be caused by poor diet, physical inactivity, disrupted sleep, stress and obesity – and can damage DNA over time.

Yeatman’s team analyzed 162 tumor samples from colorectal cancer patients at Tampa General Hospital (TGH). Inside the tumors, they discovered an excess of molecules that promote inflammation and a lack of molecules that help resolve it.

Ganesh Halade, an associate professor at the USF Heart Health Institute, said our bodies are designed to resolve inflammation through very small molecules derived from healthy fats, such as avocados.

“If the molecules come from processed food products, they directly unbalance the immune system and promote chronic inflammation,” added Halade, a member of the Cancer Biology Program at the TGH Cancer Institute.

The USF team says the Western diet, with its added sugars, saturated fats, UPFs, chemicals and seed oils, fuels chronic inflammation. Seed oils have gotten a bad rap online, although some experts say they’re not actually toxic or unhealthy.

Yeatman told The Post that a moderate amount of soybean, cottonseed, sunflower and canola oils is “probably OK,” but these seed oils are “probably inflammatory” when consumed in excess.

“Soybean oil is in an amazing number of foods today such as breads, cereals, doughnuts, pies, cakes, cookies, salad dressings, mayonnaise and even hummus,” said Yeatman.

To reverse inflammation, Yeatman suggests eating healthy, unprocessed foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil derivatives—an approach called solution medicine.

“The body is resilient,” Yeatman said. “If diets are really changed to avoid inflammatory oils [and] high sugar levels (which can promote inflammation), results can occur in months.

Healthy, raw foods include crab, salmon, halibut, spinach, Brussels sprouts, seaweed, algae, and grass-fed, pasture-raised meats.

Many fish contain omega-3s, which boast antioxidant and anticancer properties that can inhibit the growth of cancer cells by regulating inflammation.

Yeatman suggests that “second-generation” omega-3 fatty acid supplements may also aid healing. These supplements are believed to be more easily absorbed by the body than standard fish oil. Good sleep and exercise would also be part of the plan.

“This has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment by going beyond drugs to harness natural healing processes,” said Yeatman. “It’s a vital step toward addressing chronic inflammation and preventing disease before it starts.”

Early trials are underway at the TGH Cancer Institute to evaluate the effectiveness of specialized fish oil derivatives on inflammation.

The USF team’s findings were published Tuesday in Gut, an international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology. Researchers were awarded a five-year, $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to better understand colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the US. Rates are higher among adults under 50.

Next, the USF team will try to learn why the vast majority of colorectal tumors are inflamed and why some tumors have higher levels of inflammation than others.