The Cancer-Inflammation Connection

Chronic inflammation: How does it promote cancer?

Cancer is a multifactorial disease… So in order to fight cancer effectively, you have to know what these various factors are, and how to eliminate them. The many things that contribute to cancer growth include metabolic dysregulation, genetic dysregulation, and low oxygen levels,  amongst others. But perhaps one of the most fundamental drivers of cancer growth is inflammation. This is something that needs to be corrected if you want to fight cancer most effectively.

We are all familiar with inflammation whether we know it or not. When you sprain an ankle or get a bug bite, your tissues get red, warm, and swollen. This is the most basic example of inflammation that we are all familiar with. But when it comes to cancer, we’re talking about a different type of inflammation. We’re talking about chronic inflammation, which can promote cancer growth. Chronic inflammation can also be promoted by cancer growth, creating a vicious cycle of cancer and inflammation.

Scientist have long suspected the relationship between cancer and inflammation. And though cancer research has shifted its focus toward genetics for the last few decades, science is now coming full circle, looking back toward things like inflammation as a fundamental promoter of cancer. Chronic inflammation promotes cancer in many different ways. It can help to increase tumor related blood vessels, allow cancer cells to evade immune detection, increase the ability of cancer cells to resist treatments, and help cancer cells survive, grow, and spread overall. Fighting cancer is basically a race between you and the cancer. Because of this, you want to slow down the cancer growth as much as possible, as you are fighting it. Reducing inflammation is a key part of this process.

Beyond the chronic inflammation that might have existed before the cancer developed, there is also tumor induced inflammation. So once the cancer has taken hold, it itself can promote inflammation through a variety of biochemical processes. As the tumor grows, it can release a variety of chemicals in response to the lack of oxygen, which attract immune cells to the area. These immune cells, thinking that they are essentially “repairing a wound” release chemicals that allow more blood vessels to grow. In this case, the effect (cancer) now give rise to one of the causes (inflammation). And this becomes a dangerous cycle of self-reinforcement that supports cancer growth in the body.

What causes chronic inflammation?

So before the cancer even takes hold in the body, there are many things that can promote chronic inflammation in the first place. And much of this comes from the way we live our lives from day to day. Because of today’s modern day lifestyle, having some level of chronic inflammation is basically normal. Considering all of the toxins that we are exposed to on a daily basis…the unhealthy diets that most people have… sedentary lifestyles… and most importantly, today’s high rates of cancer… the situation is pretty clear. What we call a “normal lifestyle” is basically a cancer promoting lifestyle. So this is a case where “normal” is not necessarily “proper.” So to fight cancer most effectively, we have to adjust these cancer promoting lifestyle factors. Once you know what these sources of chronic inflammation are, you can work on eliminating them from your life.

Common causes of chronic inflammation include cellular stress from excess calorie consumption (especially carbohydrates), high blood sugar levels, and oxidative stress from things toxins, drugs, and even sugar itself. Beyond this there are also pro-inflammatory foods, undiagnosed food sensitivities, and chronic infections that can also contribute to chronic inflammation. And unlike certain infections which may be difficult to control  (ex. chronic hepatitis), most of these pro-inflammatory factors can easily be controlled by diet and lifestyle changes.

Improper Diet

In most cases, improper diet is the biggest cause of inflammation in the body. Fortunately, these are things that we are able to control with some minor adjustments to the way we eat.

Sugar and Refined Flour

Perhaps the biggest problem of all is sugar and refined flour. Refined flours, white flour for example, digests too quickly into sugar in your blood. Sugar overall promotes cancer in many different ways, but one of these ways is through inflammation. When we take in sugar through our diets, it increase our blood sugar. But when these sugars are in the blood, they come in contact with proteins and fats and create a substance called “advanced glycation end products” or “AGEs.” The problem with AGEs is that they bind to the cell surface and stimulate a signalling protein called “NF-kB” which activates a variety of inflammation causing genes. (In general, when we talk about “genetic dysregulation as a contributor of cancer,” these are mostly the types of problems that we are talking about. Inherited genetic traits on the other hand, are only involved in a very small percentage of cancers).

So in addition to AGEs that are formed in the body by high blood sugar itself, there are also AGEs that come directly from the foods that we eat. Most of this comes from cooking protein and fat at high heat. The biggest source is red meat cooked at high temperature. So a barbecued steak, for example, is exactly what you would want to avoid if you are trying to reduce inflammation. Fried foods are another example of what you’d want to avoid because of it’s high fat content, which has been heated to high temperatures, for long periods of time in frying machine.

Unhealthy Oils

So besides AGEs found in a variety of foods cooked with high heat, unhealthy oils are also a high source of inflammation that comes from our diets. In general, oils can be pro-inflammatory, or they can be anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately, many of the oils that people eat on a normal diet are pro-inflammatory. And perhaps just as big of a problem is the lack of anti-inflammatory fats in their diet.

Unhealthy oils come in different types. Some of these oils are bad for your health, while others are actually dangerous. And much of this has to do with how much the fatty acids have been damaged or purposely altered by industrial processes. There are a variety of different fatty acids found in natural oils. But we’re going to focus on omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, also known as “polyunsaturated fatty acids.” These fatty acids are very delicate because of their chemical structures and are also more easily damaged by exposure things like to heat, light, and air. The delicate nature of these oils is why, for example, you hear things like “you should never cook with flax oil.”

Besides these omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, most of us have also heard of “trans fats.” These types of fats are created when polyunsaturated fats are exposed to heat and pressure, or an industrial process called “hydrogenation.” These trans fats are highly inflammation producing, and have been linked to a wide variety of diseases including cancer. And beyond these trans fats, there are also other “breakdown” products that get produced when polyunsaturated fatty acids get overheated.

So these “trans fats,” and “breakdown products” are responsible for the damaging effects of unhealthy oils. But these unhealthy oils also come in different types, and some are worse than other.

…. To Be Continued

Bottom Line:Trans fats,” and “breakdown products” are responsible for the damaging effects of unhealthy oils.