The American diet is being blamed for a worrying rise in colon cancer
They may know why. An increased risk of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers is associated with obesity, which is also rising in the U.S. That's what scientists say is a 'leading theory' for the surge - noting a 2019 study that found women who were considered obese had nearly double the risk of developing early-onset colorectal cancer. Close to half of all U.S. adults are predicted to be obese by 2030, according to research released the same year.
The chronic condition can cause inflammation and higher levels of insulin that increases peoples' risk of getting cancer, including several types of gastrointestinal cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other risk factors include smoking, drinking alcohol, eating a Western-style diet and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Earlier this year, new research pointed to the impact of a toxin in the gut, known as colibactin, that can inflict DNA damage on colon cells that leads to the development of cancer. Colibactin is produced by the bacteria E. coli, which is often responsible for foodborne illness.
As of now, the specific cause remains unclear but the U.S. is not alone, researchers said.
'The incidence of GI cancers in adults younger than age 50 is rising globally,' explained Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute oncology fellow Dr. Sara Char.
In the U.S., scientists found that early-onset cases have shown a 'marked increase' in both American men and women since the mid-1990s.
In comparison to American adults born in 1950, those born in 1990 have twice the risk of developing colon cancer and four times the risk of developing rectal cancer, the researchers found.
Furthermore, early-onset colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in U.S. for men under 50. For women in the same age group, it's the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
Colorectal cancer, the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer, also affects Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian people disproportionately.
These and other related findings signal a worrying shift — and potentially a need for updated treatment practices, the researchers noted.
Patients with early-onset colorectal cancers often experience delays in diagnosis because neither doctors, nor their patients, suspect cancer and doctors are more likely to diagnose patients when they are at advanced stages of the disease. Younger patients are more likely to receive aggressive treatment, 'often without a survival advantage,' they said.
Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men and the fourth-leading cause in women. Overall, it's the second most common cause of U.S. cancer deaths, and the American Cancer Society says it's expected to cause about 52,900 deaths this year.
The researchers pointed out that younger patients are more likely to experience financial hardship because of their diagnosis and problems with body image and mental health, as well as a worse quality of life.
'Ongoing research efforts investigating the biology of early-onset GI cancers are critical to developing more effective screening, prevention, and treatment strategies,' Char, the paper's lead author, said.
The paper was published by Oxford University Press in the journal BJS.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
29 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
The UN warns millions will die by 2029 if US funding for HIV programs isn't replaced
LONDON (AP) — Years of American-led investment into AIDS programs has reduced the number of people killed by the disease to the lowest levels seen in more than three decades and provided life-saving medicines for some of the world's most vulnerable. But in the last six months, the sudden withdrawal of U.S. money has caused a 'systemic shock,' U.N. officials warned, adding that if the funding isn't replaced, it could lead to more than 4 million AIDS-related deaths and 6 million more HIV infections by 2029. A new UNAIDS report released Thursday said the funding losses have 'already destabilized supply chains, led to the closure of health facilities, left thousands of health clinics without staff, set back prevention programs, disrupted HIV testing efforts and forced many community organizations to reduce or halt their HIV activities.' It also said that it feared other major donors scaled back their support, reversing decades of progress against AIDS worldwide — and that the strong multilateral cooperation is in jeopardy because of wars, geopolitical shifts and climate change. A 'lifeline' removed The $4 billion that the United States pledged for the global HIV response for 2025 disappeared virtually overnight in January, when U.S. President Donald Trump ordered that all foreign aid be suspended and later moved to shutter the U.S. AID agency . Andrew Hill, an HIV expert at the University of Liverpool who is not connected to the United Nations, said that while Trump is entitled to spend U.S. money as he sees fit, 'any responsible government would have given advance warning so countries could plan,' instead of stranding patients in Africa where clinics were closed overnight. The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR , was launched in 2003 by U.S. President George W. Bush, the biggest-ever commitment by any country focused on a single disease. UNAIDS called the program a 'lifeline' for countries with high HIV rates, and said that it supported testing for 84.1 million people, treatment for 20.6 million, among other initiatives. According to data from Nigeria, PEPFAR also funded 99.9% of the country's budget for medicines taken to prevent HIV. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Angeli Achrekar, a UNAIDS deputy executive director who was PEPFAR's principal deputy coordinator until January 2023, said the program is under review by the Trump administration though Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver 'to continue life-saving treatment.' ''The extent to which it will continue in the future, we don't know,' she told a video news conference with U.N. reporters in New York. 'We are cautiously hopeful that PEPFAR will continue to support both prevention and treatment services.' A gap impossible to fill In 2024, there were about 630,000 AIDS-related deaths worldwide, per a UNAIDS estimate — the figure has remained about the same since 2022 after peaking at about 2 million deaths in 2004. Even before the U.S. funding cuts, progress against curbing HIV was uneven. UNAIDS said that half of all new infections are in sub-Saharan Africa. Tom Ellman of Doctors Without Borders said that while some poorer countries were now moving to fund more of their own HIV programs, it would be impossible to fill the gap left by the U.S. 'There's nothing we can do that will protect these countries from the sudden, vicious withdrawal of support from the U.S.,' said Ellman, head of the group's South Africa medical unit. Experts also fear another significant loss — data. The U.S. paid for most HIV surveillance in African countries, including hospital, patient and electronic records, all of which has now abruptly ceased, according to Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of the Global Health Institute at Duke University. 'Without reliable data about how HIV is spreading, it will be incredibly hard to stop it,' he said. A new drug revives hope The uncertainty comes in the wake of a twice-yearly injectable that many hope could end HIV . Studies published last year showed that the drug from pharmaceutical maker Gilead was 100% effective in preventing the virus. At a launch event Thursday, South Africa's health minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the country would 'move mountains and rivers to make sure every adolescent girl who needs it will get it,' saying that the continent's past dependence upon US aid was 'scary.' Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, called Yeztugo , a move that should have been a 'threshold moment' for stopping the AIDS epidemic, said Peter Maybarduk of the advocacy group Public Citizen. But activists like Maybarduk said Gilead's pricing will put it out of reach of many countries that need it. Gilead has agreed to sell generic versions of the drug in 120 poor countries with high HIV rates but has excluded nearly all of Latin America , where rates are far lower but increasing. 'We could be ending AIDS,' Maybarduk said. 'Instead, the U.S. is abandoning the fight.' ___ Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at . ___ A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the name of the drug is Yeztugo, not Sunlenca.
Boston Globe
31 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Israeli strikes kill at least 32 in Gaza as Palestinian war deaths top 58,000
Advertisement Throughout the war in Gaza, violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Funerals were held there Sunday for two Palestinians, including Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, killed by Israeli settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Children killed and Israel blames a technical error In central Gaza, officials at Al-Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after an Israeli strike on a water collection point in nearby Nuseirat. Among the dead were six children. Ramadan Nassar, a witness who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that around 20 children and 14 adults had been lined up to get water. He said Palestinians walk some 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to fetch water from the area. The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant but a technical error made its munitions fall 'dozens of meters from the target.' Advertisement In Nuseirat, a small boy leaned over a body bag to say goodbye to a friend. 'There is no safe place,' resident Raafat Fanouna said as some people went over the rubble with sticks and bare hands. Separately, health officials said an Israeli strike hit a group of citizens walking in the street on Sunday afternoon in central Gaza City, killing 11 people and injuring around 30 others. Dr. Ahmed Qandil, who specializes in general surgery, was among those killed, Gaza's Health Ministry said. A ministry spokesperson, Zaher al-Wahidi, told the AP that Qandil had been on his way to Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital. In the central town of Zawaida, an Israeli strike on a home killed nine, including two women and three children, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Later, Al-Awda Hospital said a strike on a group of people in Zawaida killed two. Israel's military said it was unaware of the strike on the home, but said it hit more than 150 targets over the past 24 hours, including what it called weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and sniping posts. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group operates out of populated areas. Gaza's Health Ministry says women and children make up more than half of the over 58,000 dead in the war. The ministry, under Gaza's Hamas-run government, doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The U.N. and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251. Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen told right-wing Channel 14 that his ministry will not help rebuild infrastructure in Gaza. 'Gaza should remain an island of ruins to the next decades,' he said. Advertisement Funeral for Palestinian-American killed in the West Bank In the West Bank, which has seen violence between Israeli troops and Palestinians and Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinians, funerals were held for a Palestinian-American and a Palestinian friend. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Musallet, from Florida, had been beaten by Israeli settlers. Diana Halum, a cousin, said the attack occurred on his family's land. The ministry initially identified him as Seifeddine Musalat, 23. Musallet's friend, Mohammed al-Shalabi, was shot in the chest, the ministry said. Israel's military has said Palestinians hurled rocks at Israelis in the area on Friday, lightly wounding two people and setting off a larger confrontation. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused the military of ignoring settler violence. Their bodies were carried through the streets on Sunday as mourners waved Palestinian flags and chanted, 'God is great.' Musallet's family has said it wants the U.S. State Department to investigate his death and hold the settlers accountable. The State Department said it had no comment out of respect for the family. Isseid reported from Al-Mazraa a-Sharqiya, West Bank. Associated Press writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
Buzz Feed
4 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Are You Pooping Correctly? Try This Simple Technique
Among the current wave of wellness obsessions, fibermaxxing is gaining major traction. This more-is-more approach to fiber is touted on TikTok as a way to boost digestion, satiety and overall gut health while also addressing the fact that most Americans aren't getting enough. But while increasing your fiber intake has clear benefits, nutrition experts say there's a right way to do it if you want to see results. What is fibermaxxing? The TikTok trend is all about maximizing fiber intake by loading up every meal and snack with fiber-rich foods, and sometimes supplements, to support gut health, satiety, cholesterol levels, blood sugar stability and even cancer prevention. It reflects a growing shift away from protein-obsessed diets toward a stronger focus on digestive and colon health. But Jennifer House, a registered dietitian and owner of First Step Nutrition in Calgary, Alberta, cautions that if you have IBS or an inflammatory bowel condition like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, a high-fiber diet might not be ideal. 'And if you suffer from constipation, increasing fiber all at once could temporarily make the situation worse.' How much fiber do we actually need? For women ages 18 to 50, the general recommendation is 25 grams of fiber per day, and 21 grams for those 51 and older, House said. For men, it's 30 grams daily. 'Most people only get about half of the recommended amount of fiber each day,' she added. Fiber is found only in plant-based foods, and there are five main groups that provide it: vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and nuts and seeds. Of these, legumes pack the biggest punch. Just one cup of beans contains 10 to 19 grams of fiber, which can get you more than halfway to your daily target. 'Animal foods don't contain fiber, so an eating pattern that's disproportionately high in meat, dairy and eggs is more likely to fall short on fiber,' said registered dietitian Avery Zenker. The health benefits of fiber: Fiber supports healthy digestion, helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and promotes a sense of fullness that can aid in appetite and weight management. It's also linked to a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, including colorectal and colon, Zenker noted. 'Low fiber diets are linked to microbiome imbalances and lower microbial diversity, both of which are associated with increased risk of inflammatory diseases.' Different types of fiber offer different benefits. 'Soluble fiber helps regulate blood sugar and lower cholesterol — great for patients with diabetes or heart disease risk,' said Dr. Michael Ednie, founder of Bespoke Concierge MD based in Scottsdale, Arizona. This type of fiber dissolves in water to form a gel that helps lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar. 'Insoluble fiber promotes regularity and helps prevent constipation, which is crucial for colon health,' Ednie said. Then there's prebiotic fiber, which serves as food for the beneficial bacteria in your gut. 'As those bacteria ferment prebiotic fibers, they produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which have anti-inflammatory effects and support gut barrier function. Prebiotics have also been linked to improved mineral absorption and even mood regulation via the gut-brain connection,' Ednie said. Garlic, onions, bananas and asparagus are all excellent sources. Just like variety in your overall diet supports better nutrition, eating different types of fiber helps build a healthier, more resilient gut microbiome. 'Different fibers feed different strains of beneficial bacteria, which leads to better gut health, stronger immune function and lower inflammation overall,' Ednie explained. While there's no strict formula for how much of each fiber type you need, he suggests aiming for about two-thirds insoluble fiber and one-third soluble fiber. Fibermaxxing can backfire on your digestive system. While there's no official upper limit for fiber intake, increasing it too quickly can cause gas, bloating and other digestive issues like cramping, constipation and diarrhea. 'The gut bacteria essentially go into overdrive trying to process the sudden influx of fiber, producing excess gas as a byproduct,' Ednie explained. 'In rare cases, if someone dramatically increases fiber without proper hydration or pacing, it can even lead to intestinal blockages that require medical attention.' The type of fiber you're increasing also affects the symptoms you may experience. 'Soluble fiber — found in foods like oats, apples and beans — tends to be gentler at first but often causes more gas because it's fermented by gut bacteria,' Ednie said. 'Insoluble fiber — from whole grains, vegetable skins and nuts — adds bulk and moves things along but can lead to more bloating and cramping if increased too quickly without enough water.' Zenker also notes that for some people, especially older adults and young children, the satiating effect of fiber may reduce overall food intake, potentially leading to unintended weight loss or nutrient gaps. Additionally, consuming too much fiber can interfere with the absorption of important minerals like iron, zinc and calcium by binding to them in the gut and preventing their absorption. Increasing your fluid intake is key. Hydration is essential when increasing fiber intake to help it do its job effectively. 'Soluble fiber needs water to form the gel that helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol,' Ednie explained. 'Insoluble fiber needs water to add bulk and move stool efficiently through the digestive tract.' He recommends aiming for at least eight to 10 cups of water a day when boosting your fiber intake, and more if you're active or in a hot climate, and pairing every fiber-rich meal or snack with a full glass of water to support digestion. How to safely increase your fiber intake. Nutrition experts agree that it's important to increase fiber gradually to give your digestive system time to adjust and minimize the risk of bloating or discomfort. 'Instead of jumping from 10 grams a day to 30 overnight, add just 3 to 5 grams of fiber per week,' Ednie said. He also recommends spreading your fiber intake throughout the day, like enjoying oatmeal with berries in the morning, veggies or legumes at lunch and dinner, and snacks like fruit with nuts or popcorn in between. 'Consistency makes it much easier for the body to adapt and helps create sustainable habits that support long-term gut health,' he added. Ednie also emphasizes prioritizing whole foods as your main fiber source to support digestive, metabolic and cardiovascular health. These foods naturally contain a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber, along with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that fiber supplements don't offer. 'Supplements can be helpful for people who struggle to meet their fiber needs through diet alone, but they should be viewed as an addition, not a replacement,' he said. HuffPost.
