Dietary Fats and Its Links With Cancer

¶ … Dietary Fibers on the Risk of Developing Cancer

Cancer is a genetic and complex disease caused mainly due to environmental elements. Carcinogen is a cancer agent that and can be present in water, food, air and in sunlight and chemicals as well. Almost ninety percent of the cancer occurs in epithelia because the epithelia cells cover the human's skin, lines the alimentary and respiratory tracts, and also metabolize ingested carcinogens. Currently, the causes of diseases are changing and infection can cause problems like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. There were more than ten million cancer cases in 1996 globally while six million people died from cancer. Unhealthy lifestyle like smoking cigarettes and adopting modern diet that includes fiber content and high fat is causing increased incidences of cancer in humans (Alison).

Development of Cancer

Cancer cells are different from normal cells and they continue to grow other abnormal cells in the body, forming a tumor. There are different types of tumor like brain tumor, Wilms tumor, breast tumor that causes deteriorating health. Wilms cancer is commonly found in children and happens in the kidneys (ACS, Wilms Tumor ). There is benign brain tumor that can be removed and does not grow back and there is malignant brain tumor that is life threatening (USDHHS).

Cancer cells grow and invade other tissues. Growing and invading causes the cell to become a cancer cell because the DNA of the person gets damaged. Every cell contains DNA which can be repaired if a normal cell is damaged, but with a cancer cell, the DNA cannot be repaired. However, the cell does not die and continues making new cells not needed by the body. Every cell created from cancer cell has a damaged DNA which can be inherited by the future generations (ACS, Wilms Tumor ). Every gene has a DNA and abnormal changes in those DNAs are called mutations. Mutations affect the cells in different ways either by stopping protein development or by making more protein than required by the human body. Mutation also causes normal cells to become cancer cells (ACS).

Proto-Oncogenes and Tumor-Suppressors

Proto Oncogenes help the cells to grow normally, but when mutations occur, the oncogenes become abnormal causing uncontrollable growth, leading to cancer. Some cancers are caused by the mutations that are inherited and turn on the oncogene. Slowing down of cell division is done through tumor suppressor genes; they also repair DNA damages and send the message to the cell when it's time to die. Improper functioning of these genes causes cancer. Oncogenes occur from the activation of the genes while tumor suppressor occurs from deactivation of the genes (ACS).

The effects of dietary fat

Diet related elements cause about thirty percent of cancer and obesity increases cancer risks in kidney, endometrium, breast, colorectal and esophagus. Alcohol is the cause of liver, esophagus, larynx, pharynx and oral cavity cancer. A lot of hypotheses for the dietary effects of cancer have been found from investigation links between cancer rates and dietary patterns in different populations. In the 1970s, many western countries had high diets of sugar, fat and animal products which caused cancers of lung, endometrium, prostate, breast and colorectal. In comparison, people in third world countries depended on two staple foods that were starchy and had low intake of sugar, fat and animal products as a result of which they had low rates of cancer. This study determined that diets of different populations had different rates of cancer. In the developing and the developed countries, breast cancer remains the most common disease in women while lung cancer was common in men (Key, Allen and Spencer). In many countries, diets of the people changed in the 2nd half of the 20th century and there was increase in dairy products, meat, alcoholic beverages, fresh juice and vegetable oils along with starchy foods like maize flour, rice, potatoes and bread. People changed their lifestyles with decrease in physical activity leading to obesity (Key, Allen and Spencer).

Evidence/Experimental Studies and results

In several studies, the amount of dietary fat is shown as minor while in other it is shown to have no effect on the risk of cancer e.g. type two diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases; on the other hand, the fat quality is shown to have an important effect on serum lipid and BP and on low grade inflammation and endothelial function. The main objective of this review was to analyze the affect and grade regarding the evidence of the type and amount of dietary fat and its risk on body weight, and diseases like cancer (Schwab, Lauritzen and Tholstrup).