by Natasha Hobley at The Vaccine Reaction
Processed and ultra-processed foods have been the highlight of many recent news stories over the past several years, and for good reason. Rates of chronic disease, mental disorders, and obesity in the United States continue to increase while the crushing weight of the financial burden on society also increases. Doctors and researchers have found yet another reason to avoid ultra-processed foods: the heavy presence of industrially made seed oils have been linked to an increased risk of colon cancer, particularly in younger adults.1
Colorectal Cancer Uptick in Younger Generations
Seed oils are commonly used plant-based cooking oils such as vegetable oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and sunflower oil. They are widely used in packaged foods of all varieties— roasted nuts, salad dressings, candy bars, crackers, and much more.
Seed oils are not only highly processed, but they also contain fats that are oxidized during storage, heating, or the processing itself. Excess consumption of seed oils can cause inflammation in the body, which at the root of many diseases marked by chronic inflammation like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and other poor health conditions. The seed oils considered harmful to health include sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, soybean, oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, and peanut oil.2
Doctors have noted a “clear uptick” in colorectal cancer, a cancer that used to largely affect those over 55, in younger generations.2 According to Yale Medicine, nearly double the number of young adults under age 55 are being diagnosed with and dying from colorectal cancer compared to a decade ago.3
Tumor Samples Demonstrate Increased Molecules that Hinder Healing, Promote Tumor Growth
To better understand the role of seed oils in colon cancer, researchers at the University of South Florida Health (USF) and Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute analyzed 162 tumor samples from colon cancer patients. They found that the tumors examined demonstrated increased levels of small oily molecules, known as bioactive lipids, that are produced when the body metabolizes seed oils. In addition to increasing inflammation, these molecules hinder the body’s healing process and foster the growth of tumors.4
“It is well-known that patients with unhealthy diets have…
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