Colin
- A study found that chemicals produced when eating junk food raised cancer risk
- Junk foods like red meat and sugar could inhibit cancer-protecting genes
- READ MORE: Large study finds these 7 lifestyle choices lower risk of cancer
Scientists believe they have uncovered a missing link between how eating junk food increases the risk of cancer.
A study in Singapore looked at the effect of methylglyoxal, a compound released when the body breaks down sugary and fatty foods, on a gene that helps fight off tumors.
In a first, the academics found that methylglyoxal was able to temporarily shut off the BRCA2 gene’s ability to protect against cancer forming and growing.
Doctors have known for decades that eating junk food is linked to a much higher risk of cancer, even if the person is not obese, but the exact mechanism is still being understood.
It could, at least in part, explain why cancers among young, ostensibly healthy Americans are becoming so prevalent, particularly tumors in the colon.
Researchers at the National University of Singapore found that methylglyoxal, which the body produces more of when eating junk food, could inhibit the function of cancer-protecting genes like BRCA2
