Body Fat Raises Cancer Risk

Released on = May 2, 2007, 9:23 am

Press Release Author = Laurence Magne

Industry = Healthcare

Press Release Summary = New research findings show that extra body fat doesn\'t just
weigh you down. Scientists now have evidence that too many fat cells prompt ongoing
reactions in the body that may increase cancer risk.

Press Release Body = From the desk of Dr Magne, author of Cancer Free For Life

New research findings show that extra body fat doesn\'t just weigh you down.
Scientists now have evidence that too many fat cells prompt ongoing reactions in the
body that may increase cancer risk.

If the researchers at the Epidemiology Research department at Johns Hopkins
University are right, excess fat may alter the body\'s basic functioning in ways that
raise risk for cancer and other diseases.

Research has already shown that obesity boosts levels of hormones such as estrogen,
for example, which increase risk for breast cancer in post-menopausal women. Too
much body fat, especially in the abdomen, also increases insulin resistance, priming
the body for diabetes.

Now, recent findings suggest that obesity, especially around the waist, may also
influence the body\'s inflammatory response so that risk for colon cancer is higher.

Too Much of a Good Thing
Inflammation is the body\'s first response to infection or injury. It\'s essential to
healing, but it can go awry. Many scientists suspect that chronic low-level
inflammation of body tissues underlies a lot of disease processes. How does this
happen?

Substances called cytokines are part of the body\'s inflammation response to help
with fighting infection and healing wounds. Cytokines are made by white blood cells,
but fat cells can make cytokines too.

In addition to fighting infection, cytokines help with wound repair by stimulating
tissue growth. Research suggests that when the body has an oversupply of fat cells,
those cells release too many cytokines. This boosts the body\'s inflammatory response
and causes damage to cells and their DNA.

Where there is genetic damage plus stimulation for cells to grow, the chance of
cells growing out of control and becoming cancer is increased.

A Link to Diabetes and Cancer
A previous study, funded in part by AICR showed that people who were obese (with a
body mass index of 30 or higher) had a higher risk of colon cancer. People who were
diabetic or had poor glucose control also had increased risk.

What\'s more, a follow-up study, , found that people who had elevated blood levels of
C-reactive protein also had a higher risk of colon cancer. CRP is a marker for the
presence of low-level inflammation somewhere in the body.

Some cancers are known to be associated with persistent inflammation that\'s related
to chronic infection. For example, people infected with one of the viruses that
cause hepatitis are more susceptible to liver cancer. Chronic infection with
Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that lives on the lining of the stomach, increases
risk for stomach cancer. People with inflammatory bowel disease have above-average
rates of colon cancer.

The idea that fat cells could be actively involved in promoting inflammation is a
relatively new one. There is more to being fat than carrying around excess weight.
People should begin thinking of excess body fat as actively harmful to their health.

Dr Magne has been researching the origins and causes of disease and cancer for the
past 25 years. Visit www.cancer-free-for-life.com to receive a FREE report on The 10
Ways to Cure Cancer Immediately.

Web Site = http://cancer-free-for-life.com

Contact Details = Dr Magne has been researching the origins and causes of disease
and cancer for the past 25 years. Visit www.cancer-free-for-life.com to receive a
FREE report on The 10 Ways to Cure Cancer Immediately.

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