Colorectal cancer: a pro-inflammatory or antioxidant diet would increase the risks

Today in the world, colorectal cancer is the third most common after breast and prostate cancer and the second deadliest after lung cancer. In France, it affects and kills 45,000 and 28,000 people respectively each year. Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common in women. In 2017, nearly 60,000 new cases were diagnosed in France and, that same year, the disease killed 12,000 people.

However, changing your eating habits could reduce the risk of developing colorectal or breast cancer, say Spanish researchers. According to their study published in the journal Nutrientsfollowing a pro-inflammatory and antioxidant diet would increase the risk of developing colorectal or breast cancer.

Scientists from different institutes have followed the Spanish population in 12 different provinces using the food inflammatory index and the total non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity, two useful tools for estimating the antioxidant and inflammatory potential of a diet. To conduct the study, the researchers compared 1,852 cases of colorectal cancer and 1,567 cases of breast cancer with respectively 3,3447 and 1,487 control cases.

Almost twice as likely to develop colorectal cancer

“We focused on the role of diet, and particularly its inflammatory and antioxidant capacities, as there is evidence that chronic inflammation and oxidative stress influence the development of these two types of cancers,” says Dr. Victor Moreno, head of the colorectal cancer research group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute.

Result of the observations: “participants who followed the pro-inflammatory diet had almost twice the risk of developing colorectal cancer”, explains Dr. Mireia Obón-Santacana, lead author of the study. “On the other hand, we haven’t looked at a significant increase in breast cancer. That’s why we need to conduct more studies to check if there really is a correlation with other factors,” she notes.

Thus, “following a pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant diet presents a very significant risk for colon cancer. The positive aspect is that it is a modifiable factor and which can therefore be changed”, explains Mireia Obón. A pro-inflammatory diet is generally characterized by the consumption of refined carbohydrates, processed red meat, and saturated or trans fats. In an antioxidant diet, the consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts predominates.

A diet whose merits are often praised by science

“In order to prevent cancers like this, it is very important to follow the recommendations of official and international agencies. We should reorient our eating habits towards a Mediterranean diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains and healthy oils,” she advises.

But they and her colleagues are not the only ones interested in the Mediterranean diet, which is also characterized by a high consumption of fish and dairy products, a moderate consumption of eggs and wine and a low consumption of meat. In recent months, many studies have looked at the benefits of this diet.

In April, a study proved that this diet was the most effective to lose weight. A month later, scientists demonstrated that following it throughout its life could protect the elderly against depression. In addition to these two recent studies, this type of diet has also demonstrated its benefits on physical performance, cognitive health, cardiovascular risk, pregnancy, breast cancer, osteoporosis, sperm quality, menopause, cirrhosis of the liver, IVF or even being overweight.