'Healthy' foods may be causing a cancer crisis in young people

The food we believe to be "healthy" may be a risk factor for developing colon cancer, experts say.

Rates at which young people are being diagnosed have doubled over the past three decades, according to the American Cancer Society.

Dr. Daniel Sussman described to news outlet WSVN that this is something which "only recently has really garnered a lot of attention," but it's a "trend that has been observed for several years".

From his experience of treating patients at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, Dr Sussman says young people are at particular risk since the signs of cancer aren't noticed until it has advanced to a later stage.

"So when people get diagnosed with advanced-stage cancers, they are more likely to die from those cancers than if it was caught at an early stage," the doctor added.

Various factors can increase people's risk of cancer, but doctors have been looking into how eating processed foods can increase the chances.

There has been a major increase in the past 30 years with the number of young people diagnosed with colon cancer.iStockphoto by Getty Images

The gut could be the key to understanding the rising colon cancer rates, says Dr Maria Abreu.

"Something in the microbiome has changed, and it’s setting in motion this chronic inflammation in the [gastrointestinal] tract," she told the same publication.

She believes inflammation in the stomach caused by chemicals and bacteria in processed foods could be leading to colon cancer and has been awarded a grant to research the rising numbers.

“These ultra-processed foods create a lot of noise in the microbial system," she said.

However, it's not just your unhealthy foods that contribute to this problem as Dr Abreu noted there are other foods that we assume are good and healthy for us that may also be an issue.

“Things like emulsifiers that are added in, things that are creamy, you know, the nonfat yogurts and all these things, really can change the gut microbiome very profoundly," the doctor added.

Now, the aim is to develop new testing which can prevent the inflammation from turning into cancer by informing medical professional if their patient has a leaky gut or if their microbiome is abnormal or not.

For now, cutting down on processed foods and healthy eating is recommended by doctors, and Dr Abreu shared a piece of advice she shares with her patients.

“I tell my own patients that anything that comes in a bag with an expiration date next year is not food.”

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