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- Inflammation:
A New Link to Disease
BY THE
AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH
When you accidentally bang
your thumb with a hammer, your immune system sends white blood
cells and other, hormone-like substances to help start the healing
process. Your thumb swells. That’s one kind of inflammation,
and it’s a good sign. Another invisible kind of inflammation
in your cells and tissue is not. It may affect your risk of chronic
diseases, like cancer.
Normally, the proteins and
hormone-like substances that cause this inflammation are churned
out by your immune system with no ill effects. Under certain
conditions, however, researchers believe that these substances
help cancer cells multiply and spread.
Because an enzyme, COX-2, can
increase production of these substances, anti-inflammatory drugs,
collectively called COX-2 inhibitors, are under study. These
drugs may help prevent or treat cancers of the colon, uterus,
breast, prostate and other tissues.
Healthy Diets May Quiet
COX-2
But diet may also be able to
lower chronic inflammation linked to cancer risk. For instance,
our bodies seem to increase COX-2 levels when omega-6 fats greatly
exceed omega-3 fats in the foods we eat. Omega-3 fats are found
mainly in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and albacore (white)
tuna, but are also found in flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, walnuts
and canola oil. Omega-6 fats are found in many common vegetable
oils (corn, safflower, sunflower). Eating more foods with omega-3
fats and lowering consumption of omega-6 fats might make COX-2
less active.
A plant-based diet may also
check inflammation. Evidence suggests that antioxidants and phytochemicals
in fruits and vegetables may lower production of inflammation-promoting
hormones. A wide variety of natural phytochemicals found in fruits
and vegetables is under investigation for possible COX-2 lowering
effects.
Exercise Also Effective
Obesity may be linked to higher
cancer risk in part because of inflammation. Research suggests
that the body’s fat cells produce cytokines (proteins that
raise low-grade inflammation). As the size of fat cells increase,
so does the inflammation. In one study, one measure of inflammation
increased by more than 50 percent in obese women whose fat was
mainly in their hips and thighs (“pear-shaped”). In
obese women with significant waistline fat (“apple-shaped”)
the increase was more than 400 percent.
Regular exercise seems to have
the exact opposite effect on the immune system, reducing levels
of inflammatory proteins. This may be one of the reasons why
regular physical activity correlates with lower cancer risk.
Evidence about chronic inflammation
and cancer is still preliminary, but it wouldn’t be premature
to increase your exercise level and reduce your weight. A mostly
plant-based diet, healthy weight and regular exercise are already
estimated to lower cancer risk by 30 to 40 percent. We know that
these eating and lifestyle habits work. The accumulating research
about inflammation will help us better understand why.
________________________________________________________________________________________
AICR offers
a Nutrition Hotline (1-800-843-8114) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday.
This free service allows you to ask a registered dietitian questions
about diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer
charity focused exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition
and cancer. It provides a range of education programs that help
Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also
supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment
at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S.
It has provided more than $65 million for research in diet, nutrition
and cancer. AICR’s Web address is www.aicr.org. AICR is a member
of the World Cancer Research Fund International.
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- ARTICLE POSTED
DECEMBER 01, 2003
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