EATING too much chocolate can raise bowel cancer risk, a study suggests.
Antioxidant-rich foods — such as chocolate, nuts and berries — interacted with gut bacteria. A protein that usually protects against cancer then fuelled the disease instead.
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Researchers did tests on mice where they introduced the mutated protein into the colon. It made their cancer worse.
But protein put in the small intestine turned into a “super-suppressor”.
The team from Israel’s Hebrew University of Jerusalem said it explains why most gastrointestinal cancers start in the colon.
Professor Yinon Ben-Neriah said: “Scientists are beginning to pay more and more attention to the role gut microbiomes play in our health.
“These include both their positive effects and – in this case – their sometimes pernicious role in aiding and abetting disease.”
He said those at high-risk of bowel cancer may want to screen their gut-flora more frequently and think twice about the foods they digest. This includes antioxidants – usually good for health and found in abundance in fruit and veg.
They protect cells against free radicals which can cause heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
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