Food Associated-cancers

 

                                        

    Cancers! What is cancer? Why do most people get diseased with cancer? What are the reasons impact of getting cancer? Will scientists be able to find out a solution for this? I am going to write several articles on the above titles to give you a better knowledge about cancers. You know already that cancer cells are born when the cells divide errors can occur and those errors later develop as cancers. Cancerous genetic changes can occur due to random mistakes in multiplying cells, due to the carcinogens like tobacco smoke, and UV rays of the sun DNA being altered. In this article, I would like to draw your attention to food associated-cancers.

 An association between food intake and life is both evident and banal. Simply, food is essential for life. Starting from cellular metabolism through tissue Physiology to Organism Physiology requires every expenditure. With the population, increasing food production was insufficient and agriculture was born. Occasional overproduction of supplies posed the question of food storage. Some of the early techniques of meat or fish storage, such as smoking or salting, as well as those of vegetable and fruit conservation such as drying, pickling, or souring, have stayed the same to the present day.  Numerous food additives, mostly herbs, were also known and used in the past.

 When concerned about essential food nutrients, it is recommended to limit the daily intake of fat, replace it with food rich in polysaccharides, and enhance the nutritional quality by extensive consumption of fruits and vegetables.

As you know already, DNA sequence or the genetic information specific to the species Homo sapiens is in principle the same for all humans.  However, several subtle sequences of variations exist that make each unique. Variations in DNA coding regions and regulatory sequences are responsible for the occurrence of various forms of proteins and vegetable patterns of enzymatic activity. With this awareness, scientists focused on the field of nutrigenomics. Under Nutrigenomics, they investigate the identification of genes involved in the process of nutrition, estimation of interactions between nutrition and genes and their protein products, analyzing metabolic processes connected with nutrition, and recognition of genetically determined individual predisposing factors to developing nutrition-related diseases.

The main target of nutrigenomics is to personalize the diet to one's genetic status. They expect with achieving their main target, they would be able to prevent diet-related diseases. They have found that obesity can be given as one example for the above incident. According to their studies, obesity is associated with the expression of the gene encoding a protein called leptin.  Further studies show that obesity is not a single gene condition many more genes are involved. So obesity is a good example of the impact of gene polymorphism on nutrition. DNA Polymorphism in another group of genes plays a role in individual differences in the sensitivity to a variety of pathogens including carcinogens.

 Let's consider the carcinogenic potential of the food.

The carcinogenic potential may present in both natural and polluted human environments. It is related to one's lifestyle, which means tobacco, smoking, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages. According to the statistics, 1/3 of cancer patients are diseased with cancers because of tobacco smoking and 1/3 with different dietary factors. There is a considerable link between diet and cancer, though it is a bit complex. The majority of food products are neutral in carcinogenesis. There is a categorization of food carcinogens according to their origin and food conservation or improper storage conditions result in the occurrence of mycotoxins, such as aflatoxins, which are known to be hepatocarcinogens.  Various types of chemicals are added to food to extend its storage period.

Many of them are having carcinogenic properties. So it is needed to keep a balance between the increased risk of cancer and extended food usability. Ethanol, saccharin, caramel, nitrate(III), and nitrate (V) are some examples of additives.  Another group of food carcinogens is created in food due to the way the process of food. As an example, when heating food, direct contact with flames (grill, barbecue) (exposure to high temperature) increase the carcinogenic content of the food. (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons-PAH) HAA- Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines are another group of carcinogens that causes cholesterol and breast cancers. It is necessary to acknowledge the anticarcinogenic properties of the food. Fresh fruits and some vegetables such as pepper, which are rich in vitamins, cruciferous vegetables, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc. common spices, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, etc, and black and green tea are considered detoxifying agents that contribute to anticarcinogenesis.

To elaborate above facts, I would like to draw your attention to Sweden. They used to consume higher amounts of red meat and lesser amounts of fresh vegetables and fruits. As a result, Swedish people have relatively high incidences of gastric and rectal cancers compared with other parts of Europe.  So nutritionists recommend consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables, more fish than meat, and lots of spices to reduce the probability of getting cancer. The short time of heat processing of meat or fish, abundant usage of spices, and high consumption of green tea are some elements of Chinese cuisine.

 To sum up, what can be done to reduce the risk of nutrition-associated cancer? The simplest, shortest answer given by nutritionists is “a varied diet”.  In the more extended version, this varied diet is described as rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, with limited usage of meat and fat, and with avoidance of alcoholic beverages.

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