Inflammation has been linked to colorectal carcinogenesis and other chronic diseases in previous studies. Some foods have been known to be pro-inflammatory while some others are anti-inflammatory. That is, inflammatory foods may increase cancer risk.
The current study established a link between dietary components and plasma C-reactive protein (CRP which is a common biomarker used to assess the systemic inflammation). And then it established the correlation between incidence of colorectal cancer and dietary inflammation scores, which were based on the associations of independent dietary components with plasma C-reactive protein.
The study shows dietary inflammation scores are linked to CRP levels and risk of colorectal cancer. This means that eating pro-inflammatory foods fuels the production of CRP and increase risk of colorectal cancer.
Food components that were used to determine the inflammation score included four categories of meat, nuts, pepper, coffee, tea, dairy products, grains and twelve botanical categories.
What are pro-inflammatory foods?
Pro-inflammatory foods are generally foods with high added sugars and starchy foods. Carbohydrates particularly processed carbohydrates may contain process-induced pro-inflammatory chemicals. Ingested sugars can react with proteins, amino acids and peptides and other nitrogen-containing compounds such as enzymes in the body and promote the aging process. Some oils such as frying oils and fried foods can also be pro-inflammatory. Some people claim that eating lots of pro-inflammatory foods can shorten your lifespan. That may or may not be true, depending upon what else you eat.
What are anti-inflammatory foods?
Anti-inflammatory foods contain ingredients or components that slow the reaction of sugar and protein (browning reaction or Maillard reaction) and other nasty reactions in the body. Ingested proteins can react with sugars to prevent sugar from reacting with endogenous proteins. So protein-based foods such as meat and beans theoretically are protective against this and other damaging reactions and they are anti-inflammatory. Also fruits and vegetables that contain fibers and antioxidants can slow the browning reaction in the body and they are anti-inflammatory. Lab studies have demonstrated that antioxidants such as green tea can slow Maillard reaction.
