As we all know, cancer It is a disease in which some cells in the body multiply uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. Luckily, technological innovations and pharmaceutical launches They have made a lot of progress in this regard and more and more details are becoming known.
Among the factors that cause a normal cell to mutate into a cancer cell, it is worth highlighting genetics, aging and toxins present in the environment. However, they are not always the fundamental factors and feedingsometimes, can also play an important role.
What’s more, just as it can affect its appearance, it can help reduce the risk of suffering from it. Although it seems strange. In fact, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMSS) from Japan have discovered that certain food antigens -especially proteins present in meat and milk- suppress the development of tumors in the small intestine.
These food antigens, as the authors have explained, activate immune cells in the small intestinebut not the large intestine. In turn, it is known that certain immune cells activated by intestinal bacteria suppress tumors in the intestine.
In depth
And how was the study carried out? Well, the team has started with a special type of mouse with a mutation in a tumor suppressor gene. The first experiment was quite simple: feeding the mice normal food without antigens. Here they discovered that those who received normal food They had fewer tumors in the small intestinebut the same amount in the large intestine.
They then added a representative antigen known as albuminwhich can be found in meat and was not in normal food. When the mice have received this diet, the tumors in the small intestine appear. have suppressedjust as has happened with normal food.
“Great care”
This means that tumor suppression was directly related with the presence of antigen, not with the nutritional value of the food or any specific antigen.
“Tumors of the small intestine are much rarer than those of the colon, but the risk is elderly in cases of familial adenomatous polyposis and therefore the clinical use of elemental diets to treat inflammatory bowel disease or other gastrointestinal conditions in these patients should be considered. very carefully“, concluded Hiroshi Ohno, the head of the study.
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