Doctors warn that common frying oil may be contributing to the rise of colon cancer among young people.

Doctors warn that common frying oil may be contributing to the rise of colon cancer among young people.

A recent study conducted by the US government suggests that the widespread use of cooking oils in highly processed Western diets may be contributing to an increase in colon cancer cases. According to the pioneering study, unhealthy seed oils such as those from corn, sunflower, grapeseed, and canola may cause the body to experience chronic inflammation.

Cooking oil and colon cancer have not been conclusively linked up until now. However, a recent study conducted in the United States that looked at the tumours of over 80 individuals with colon cancer, ages 30 to 85, found that seed oils might be to blame. The study, which was published in the Gut journal, found that the tumours had higher quantities of bioactive lipids—small, oily molecules that are created when the body breaks down seed oils—than healthier fats.

The average person consumes almost 100 pounds of seed oils per year, a thousand-fold increase since the 1950s, indicating the growing prevalence of seed oils in contemporary diets. 81 tumour samples from patients with colorectal cancer between the ages of 30 and 85 were analysed by the research team; over half of the patients had advanced stage three or four cancer. Within the tumours, researchers discovered bioactive lipid concentrations that were noticeably greater than those of healthy fats.

According to the study, the high concentration of omega-6 fatty acids in these oils may make them more dangerous. These oils can be harmful in two ways, according to researchers: first, they encourage inflammation, which aids in the growth and development of cancers; second, they hinder the body's natural defences from properly combating the tumours.

Bioactive lipids not only increase inflammation but also promote cancer growth and impede the body's natural healing process. According to the researchers, avocados and olives have oils high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are a healthier substitute. Prominent physician-scientist Dr. Timothy Yeatman stated that the results underscored the pressing necessity of reassessing certain components of the Western diet, such as chemicals, inflammatory seed oils, ultra-processed foods, saturated fats, and added sugars. "People who eat poorly are known to have higher levels of inflammation in their bodies," Dr. Yeatman, an associate centre director for Translational Research and Innovation at the TGH Cancer Institute, stated.

We can now observe this inflammation in the actual colon tumours. Cancer is similar to a chronic wound that is incapable of healing; if you eat ultra-processed foods every day, your body's capacity to heal that wound is diminished because of the inflammation and immune system suppression that eventually permit the cancer to spread. Top US medical centres have stated, however, that there is no proof that eating modest amounts of seed oils as part of a balanced diet causes cancer.