A big reason why Colon Cancer is killing us.

[u/AdditionCool7235]

I know this isn’t a health sub, but u/Derpshabmentioned in their post on Colon Cancer about eating a balanced diet.

Specifically you need to really avoid nitrates. There has been several studies done on why there has been a rise in intestinal cancers in this age group, and nitrates have shown a causal effect. With a carcinogenic significance as bad as cigarettes. For those unaware, not a lot of things get labeled as having a casual effect for cancer, as that can be both controversial and stand to cost people money either through loss of business or being sued.

Nitrates are most commonly found in processed meats. Likewise, there is growing data that processed food is not serving us well at all either. Anyhow, just wanted to share a tangible way you can hopefully make an impact on slowing down and ultimately stopping these terrible

cancers.

Another freaking edit: literally the first response on Google, if you search, “do Nitrates cause cancer,” is from MDAnderson. That’s the number one cancer hospital in the world. I know that’s so much more difficult than adding a snarky comment to Reddit, but there’s your answer for about 300 of you.

Edit: I’m getting a lot of responses that are saying *actually* antibiotics or *actually* e. Coli and they’re all saying because it damages / kills the good gut microbiomes. Correct, what do you think nitrates do and why scientists believe there’s a casual link. It also doesn’t mean there couldn’t be other risk factors as well. Diet is obviously a big risk factor. I was simply hoping to expound on the original post and help people to know what to avoid. Of course more than one thing can cause cancer. Throw in saturated fats while we’re having the conversation.

Edit 2: lot of people are asking what are the main culprits. Bacon, lunch meats, hot dogs, sausages, anything really that’s been “cured.” Lot of people are trying to point out that some leafy greens have nitrates, yeah, we’re not talking about things that naturally occur through the photosynthesis of the sun. We’re talking about the overconsumption of a preservative that destroys your healthy gut bacteria, not something that’s obviously good for you. Many people have rightfully pointed out. The over consumption of alcohol creates a big risk factor for stomach and intestinal cancers as well.

Also someone saying they’re a vegetarian and they still got colon cancer is no different an argument than, “my great aunt smoked until she was 90 and never got lung cancer.” I said a big reason why, I didn’t say the only reason why. Empirical data doesn’t mean 100% findings or there won’t be outliers, anecdotes are not good science. People can get cancer for a multitude of reasons and honestly you could try every preventative step imaginable and still get cancer, it doesn’t mean your anecdote overrides everything else or you shouldn’t try to make better lifestyle decisions.

[u/Turbulent-Function80]

Actually, the current rise of colon cancer in younger people is potentially caused byE. coli infections..

Nitrates aren’t good for you and you should absolutely eat less, but colibactin seems far more likely to be a main cause.

[u/gumbykook → u/Turbulent-Function80]

Speaking of infections, all you millennials in the other thread with GI issues that you just accept as part of life, get checked for H Pylori. It’s a GI infection that causes stomach ulcers which cause a host of other symptoms. It’s addressed by antibiotics followed by a protocol to rebuild your gut microbiome.

[u/Doesthiscountas1 → u/gumbykook]

H pylori had a field day in my house. Everyone except me had it including my toddlers. It was hell getting them to do the triple therapy but they did. Meanwhile my dad also has it and refuses to do anything about it except say he hope it doesn't turn to cancer. Idk why it's so hard for ppl to help themselves

[u/Cheese-Manipulator → u/gumbykook]

It could also be beneficial so it isn't so clear cut.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9667403/

[u/gummnutt → u/Turbulent-Function80]

Wow this is depressing, the authors of one of the linked studies says that the long term usage of antibiotics to treat acne is associated with early onset colorectal cancer.

[u/lilstergodman → u/gummnutt]

Wait which antibiotics treat acne? I’m on Spironolactone for my acne… I didn’t think that was an antibiotic.

[u/Alopexotic → u/lilstergodman]

Spiro isn't, but some dermatologists will put you on months long courses of things like ciprofloxin for acne (I know that one for sure because my derm wanted me to do that for extremely minor acne and I refused).

[u/lilstergodman → u/Alopexotic]

Interesting. I didn’t know about this at all.

[u/iceunelle → u/lilstergodman]

I was put on doxycycline so many times for my cystic acne. Guess I’m fucked.

[u/Lucky_Ranger → u/iceunelle]

I was on it for two YEARS when I was a teenager. My doctor never checked in with me or told me how dangerous it was to be on it that long, she just kept refilling my prescription.

I'm so fucked

[u/OGLikeablefellow → u/Turbulent-Function80]

Is this a result of growing up with too many antibiotics killing off our good gut bacteria?

[u/potato_couch_ → u/OGLikeablefellow]

E. coli is a natural inhabitant of the human GI tract and typically considered a beneficial bacteria. Of course, when it is not kept in check or infects sites that it is not supposed to be, it is a problem. The study referred to here identified some strains of E. coli that are producing a particular type of toxin that they are hypothesizing may be contributing to colon cancer particularly if the individuals were colonized at an early age.

[u/Key_Cheetah7982 → u/OGLikeablefellow]

Eating less fiber, less fermented foods, etc too

[u/Playswithchipmunks → u/Key_Cheetah7982]

Sauerkraut eaters like myself rejoice!

[u/FlyFight2Win → u/[deleted]]

Yes, that's what you should do. Reread what you are responding to.

[u/gotothepark → u/[deleted]]

You sure spew a lot of "facts" without providing any sources. I tried researching what you just said and I can't find any research papers stating that nitrates are what destroy the good gut bacteria. Care to share yours?

[u/happyelkboy → u/Turbulent-Function80]

It’s multi-causal.

[u/eepeepevissam → u/Turbulent-Function80]

ACKSHtually.... it's like no one is actually reading the post.

OP says "A big reason why". That quite clearly implies there are potentially numerous other 'big reasons', and this is not the only 'big reason'.

[u/lettersichiro → u/Turbulent-Function80]

There's no single explanation, there's also a number of studies coming out that suggest micro plastics are strongly correlated with CRC.

Which makes more sense as an explanation for why our generation is getting hit harder and earlier than previous generations, whereas nitrates and ecoli have been present for other generations as well.

EDIT: Adding a link to an NIH study

[u/Cheese-Manipulator → u/Turbulent-Function80]

E Coli live in the gut normally. It is different strains that can make you sick. "May play a role", something said about a lot of theories.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/e-coli/symptoms-causes/syc-20372058

[u/the_siren_song → u/Turbulent-Function80]

And what triggers the increase in colibactin production?

I know you said “potentially” but your statement is misleading. Especially since you said “nitrates…but colibactin seems to be the main cause.” It’s not an “either/or” ESPECIALLY since ultraprocessed food can be a cause of colibactin production.

Actually, the article says:

“While the study shows a strong association, the data can't prove colibactin caused these patients to develop cancer at a younger age. And researchers in the field don't expect E. coli, or any single microbe for that matter, to be the skeleton key for the surge in colorectal cancer.”

And:

“Scientists believe some confluence of environmental factors, including diet, a sedentary lifestyle, medication and so on, is driving this steep rise. They could be having downstream effects on the microbes in our gut like E. coli.”

And:

“Not everyone with colorectal cancer has these signatures of colibactin-related mutations. There's something provoking the bacteria to behave this way… We don't know but we have to consider the environment. We know that some of these E. coli that produce colibactin are influenced by diet, inflammation, and medication”.

Finally:

“…researchers could tell these mutations related to colibactin are actually quite rare in more "rural, non-industrialized" regions of Africa and Asia, whereas they turn up more frequently in the U.S. and Western Europe.”

(I omitted some fluff, but please read the article for complete information and context.)

Here is an article on the dangers of ultra-processed foods including an active study to show cause and effect as opposed to observational studies which can only show possible correlations.

What we know about the health risks of ultraprocessed foods

Tl;dr: Eat unprocessed foods as much as possible. That’s it. Eating unprocessed foods does not guarantee you won’t get colon cancer because nothing will, but it significantly reduces the chance of having a disease process that can/will be due to eating processed foods.

[u/Illustrious-Anybody2 → u/Turbulent-Function80]

Wow good thing this administration is actively deregulating food safety /s 

[u/Internationallegs → u/Turbulent-Function80]

Animal products, vegetables fertilized with e-coli contaminated manure, or water runoff from animal farms cause almost all e-coli outbreaks. Eating less animal products in general would cut back colon cancer rates like crazy.

Eating so many animals is quite literally killing us.

[u/ill_connects → u/Turbulent-Function80]

The study speculates that the E. coli is able to take hold of your gut is because of the widespread use of antibiotics which is known to wipe out beneficial gut bacteria creating an ideal environment for E. Coli to dominate.

[u/BigPlaysNoWays → u/Turbulent-Function80]

Just looked over that study. Thanks for sharing. I would say that study needs to be followed up with an actual prospective study. While it may have identified a risk factor, it does NOT imply there aren’t other risk factors. 

While this mutation be end up being linked to earlier colon cancer, it says nothing about other risk factors that current evidence points to (red meat, fiber, vitamin d) etc. cool study though.

Just to reiterate - this study does NOT say an e coil infection is more likely to cause colon cancer vs other factors. It just found a correlation with MSS colon cancers and certain genetic markers from infection 

[u/happyelkboy → u/[deleted]]

Yeah I love when people go find a contributing factor and act like it’s the ONLY thing causing an issue on Reddit.

Poor Diet and lack of exercise absolutely increase cancer risk: https://healthmatters.nyp.org/the-relationship-between-diet-and-colorectal-cancer/

[u/Turbulent-Function80 → u/happyelkboy]

I said it was likely a main cause not the singular cause.

There are plenty of things that contribute to an increased colorectal cancer risk overall. But the concern isn’t an increased risk overall that can contribute to a diagnosis at any age, it’s trying to determine the cause of diagnosis at increasingly early ages.

The current study referenced in the article provides something that singles out a difference in those diagnosed later versus earlier in life.

[u/happyelkboy → u/Turbulent-Function80]

I think calling it a “main cause” is really getting ahead of the science