Neu5Gc, a non-human sugar found in red meat, promotes inflammation and cancer progression
researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine to investigate the possible tumor-forming role of a sugar called Neu5Gc, which is naturally found in most mammals but not in humans.
In a study published in the Dec. 29 online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists found that feeding Neu5Gc to mice engineered to be deficient in the sugar (like humans) significantly promoted spontaneous cancers. The study did not involve exposure to carcinogens or artificially inducing cancers, further implicating Neu5Gc as a key link between red meat consumption and cancer.
They found that red meats (beef, pork and lamb) are rich in Neu5Gc, affirming that foods of mammalian origin such as these are the primary sources of Neu5Gc in the human diet. The molecule was found to be bio-available, too, meaning it can be distributed to tissues throughout the body via the bloodstream.
The researchers had previously discovered that animal Neu5Gc can be absorbed into human tissues. In this study, they hypothesized that eating red meat could lead to inflammation if the body’s immune system is constantly generating antibodies against consumed animal Neu5Gc, a foreign molecule. Chronic inflammation is known to promote tumor formation.
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N-Glycolylneuraminic acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
People Behind the Progress at the Cancer Research Institute - CRI
"recently published in the British Journal of Cancer, for instance, followed the diets and health of 61,000 participants over more than a decade. The study found that vegetarians—inclusive of those who eat fish—are 50 percent less likely to develop some types of cancer than people who eat red meat."
"the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research described suggestive evidence that animal fat intake increases the risk of colorectal cancer.....colon cancer patients who, after having a primary tumor removed, maintained a Western diet that’s high in red and processed meats were three-and-a-half times more likely to have a recurrence than patients who ate higher intakes of fish, poultry, fruits, and vegetables."
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