Research links processed food to lung cancer

Washington, United States, December 29: Excessive intake of inorganic phosphates may play an important role in the aggression and development of lung cancerdefine, suggests a study.

According to researchers a study in animal models suggests that a diet of processed food that has phosphates like cheese, beverages, meat, and bakery products accelerate the growth of tumors.

Myung-Haing Cho of Seoul National University, leader of the research, put two groups of mice with lung cancerdefine on two diets. One was put on 0.5 to 1 percent phosphate, a moderate dose equivalent to normal diet of humans. The other group was fed a diet high on phosphates.

The rodents were scrutinized for four weeks. The team analyzed the lung tissues at the end of the month to determine the effects of the inorganic phosphates on tumors. Cho said “Our study indicates that increased intake of inorganic phosphates strongly stimulates lung cancer development in mice. A diet rich in phosphates significantly increased the lung surface tumor lesions as well as the size.”

John Heffner, past president of American Thoracic society, said that the results suggest that a diet high in inorganic phosphates stimulated and increased the size of the tumors. Mice fed with high additives had more aggressive tumors. He added that “They looked at some of the molecular signaling that was going on that promote human development, and found alterations in high phosphate animals.”

Cho suggests that the study advocates cutting back on inorganic phosphates which “may be critical for lung cancer treatment as well as prevention.” Phosphates are necessary for human nutrition and are used in compounds to enrich calcium and iron content in food.

The researchers discovered that a diet rich in phosphates affected the Akt gene, a major cause of lung cancer but it also suppressed the other gene that slows the development of cancer.

Cho pointed out that it is not a very accurate estimate that food additives develop cancer. According to him bred mice do not develop cancer in the same way as human beings. However, scientists feel that food with inorganic phosphates has been growing steadily and there is a need to determine safe levels.

Lung cancer is one of the largest killers in the world. Nearly 1.2 million people fall prey to this ailment annually.

The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care Medicine.