High-fat diet colon cancer link explained

UPI ^ | 16 May 2002 | Reported by UPI Medical and Health Correspondent Steve Mitchell in Washington

[VadeRetro]

DALLAS, May 16 (UPI) -- Scientists believe they have discovered precisely how a high-fat diet can lead to the development of colon cancer.

Reporting in Friday's issue of the journal Science, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said the vitamin D receptor, which is found on the surface of cells in the colon and normally binds vitamin D, also binds with and neutralizes a toxic chemical known to cause colon cancer.

David Mangelsdorf, principal investigator of the study and a pharmacologist at UT's Howard Hughes Medical Institute, told United Press International the toxic chemical is called lithocholic acid. It is a type of bile acid released by the body into the small intestine to help break down cholesterol -- a substance that is abundant in high-fat meals.

Most bile acids get recycled back to the liver, but lithocholic acid does not and gets passed to the large intestine and colon. "At high concentrations in the colon, it causes colon cancer," Mangelsdorf said.

The rest of the article.

[VadeRetro]

We've known about the fat/colon cancer link for some time. This is just further detail on mechanisms.

[jwalsh07]

Good science.

[VadeRetro]

Non-crevo break. (Went looking for more fodder but oh, well!)

[VadeRetro]

Note that this carcinogen, a component of liver bile, is stored in the gall bladder in people who have not had the foresight to remove such an organ.

[goodnesswins]

So if you don't have a gall bladder it just leaves the body? And doesn't get stored elsewhere....just wondering...

[galt-jw]

lignans, in flax seed, also have been shown to reduce cancer. also, detoxification with green foods and chlorophyll are beneficial. chitosan is a fat binder, and may be worthwhile, it has shown promise in lowering cholesterol and bodyfat. see...www.lef.org...life extension foundation, a non profit organization, who, btw, has won several victories against the fda regarding access to dietary supplements. pearson and shaw vs. shalala and fda is the reason why function claims can now be listed on supplement labels.

[VadeRetro]

Gall bladders store your bile until you eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken, at which time you need a whole lot at once. Otherwise, it steadily drips down the bile duct into your colon, somewhat inefficiently.

But if your gall bladder is not emptying right anyway, you might as well be rid of it.

[VadeRetro]

a non profit organization, who, btw, has won several victories against the fda regarding access to dietary supplements. pearson and shaw vs. shalala and fda is the reason why function claims can now be listed on supplement labels.

Those are a good thing. They have sufficient caveats that you don't mistake the function label for a sure bet. But you need something to tell you what the stuff is for.

[Ditter]

Had your colonoscopy today? ;9}

[Trust but Verify]

My father died of colon cancer. He ate a very poor diet all his life. Very high fat. He smoked and he drank.

At the age of 39, I had my own gallbladder removed. I don't smoke, drink, eat a very healthy diet and have already undergone the dreaded colonoscopy. Colon cancer ain't going to take me!

[VadeRetro]

Had your colonoscopy today? ;9}

None since last June. I've had at least three.

[VadeRetro]

At forty, I was diagnosed with some kind of non-specific colitis. They told me Crohn's at first, but quietly backed off the diagnosis as my problems cleared up.

Colon trouble comes and goes with me. I notice a high-starch, high-fruit, low fat, Pritikin-style diet always makes me feel great all over (not just the colon) for as long as I can stay on it. That's usually about two months.

[Ditter]

Don't call it the "dreaded colonoscopy" you will scare people off. Tell the truth, it's a piece of cake. (Really) I have a friend who suffered terrible miagraine headaches for 20 years. Someone scared her about the "horrible allergy test". Finally she went & she was allergic to almost everything. Now no more headaches.

[jwalsh07]

This you?

[Clintons Are White Trash]

I lost my Mom to colon cancer that spread to the liver - she was 46. At 45, I've already had one colonoscopy and will be booking another this year. I'm thrilled they are making some headway into this but I too am curious if the fact that your gallbladder is removed has effect on this.

[VadeRetro]

Colonoscopy is a piece of cake compared to sigmoidoscopy or barium enema. (Aaaaagghh!) Neither of those procedures is done with medication.

Colonoscopy would be worse, except they give you Demerol so it's better. The last one I had, they gave me Demerol first and then Versed. That is to say, they got me drunk and then they got me totally amnesiac.

But have a good insurance plan, folks. Or have lots of money.

[tubebender]

But if your gall bladder is not emptying right anyway, you might as well be rid of it.

My son and my sister both have had their gall bladder removed and both suffer from stomach discomfort and diarrhea.

[VadeRetro]

How did you get my pictures?

I actually was thinking of posting a set of mine on my web site but so far have not. (Mine aren't as pretty as Katie Couric's.)

[jwalsh07]

A Kinder, Gentler Search for Polyps in the Intestinal Universe

[jwalsh07]

How did you get my pictures?

Unfortunately, my lot in life has been cast as the fellow who cleans the used barium out of the cracks and crevices of the table. Your images are available to the cleaning man with a laptop and some Dicom know how.