Studies in mice have demonstrated that obesity-induced inflammation contributes to the risk of colorectal cancer, but evidence in humans has been scarce. A new study shows that two inflammatory proteins in the colon increase in parallel with increasing weight in humans. An incremental rise in these pro-inflammatory proteins (called cytokines) was observed along the entire spectrum of subjects’ weights, which ...

Conclusions from a new animal study suggest that walnut consumption may be beneficial for digestive health by increasing the amount of good probiotic-type bacteria in the gut.(1) Walnuts do this by acting as a prebiotic to help nourish and grow the bacteria that keeps the digestive system healthy. In this study, researchers found that a diet with walnuts led to ...

Deficiency in a certain protein in the gastrointestinal tract has been shown to lead to both inflammation and abdominal fat accumulation in mice. The discovery provides yet another piece of the puzzle of how humans are affected — or not — by the large quantities of intestinal bacteria we carry with us. In the study from Sahlgrenska Academy, researchers have ...