Scientists have flagged a serious link between cancer and a common cooking item that almost every kitchen has.
It's no secret that you are putting yourself at risk of becoming unhealthy if you eat a bad diet. Too much of anything, from salt to fat and sugar, is enough to cause damage to your physical wellbeing in some way or another.
But the damage may be being done in a way that was unknown until now. And it is all to do with new research that has been funded by the taxpayer, with the findings enough to make many people rethink what they eat and how often they eat it.
New research finds cancer link
The research was published in scientific journal Gut on Tuesday this week (10 December), and points to evidence of a link between a specific form of cancer and a common cooking additive.
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The findings found that there was a causal link between cooking oils - that many of us will use when cooking vegetables or meat on the stove - and colon cancer.
In the United States, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
The particular oils that are putting you at risk are seed oils, according to the research conducted by personnel from the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute.
This is oils such as sunflower, corn, canola, and grapeseed.
On top of this, the link was more widely found between something known as inflammation-causing fatty molecules, that you will find loads in takeaways and ultra-processed foods, such as pre-packaged supermarket ready meals.
What do the experts say?
Timothy Yeatman, co-author of the paper and professor of surgery at the University of South Florida, issued a warning in the research to those who consume these foods on a regular basis.
"We now see this inflammation in the colon tumours themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that won’t heal," Yeatman said.
"If your body is living off . . . ultra-processed foods, its ability to heal that wound decreases due to the inflammation and suppression of the immune system that ultimately allows the cancer to grow."
For Yeatman, the research serves as evidence enough to re-evaluate the Western diet and our attitudes to food, both in the home and when eating out.
“Our bodies are designed to actively resolve inflammation through bioactive lipid compounds derived from the healthy fats, like avocados, that we consume,” said Ganesh Halade, associate professor in the USF Health Heart Institute and a member of the Cancer Biology Program at TGH Cancer Institute.
“Bioactive lipids are very small molecules derived from the foods that we eat and, if the molecules are coming from processed food products, they directly imbalance the immune system and drive chronic inflammation.”