Colon heat and colon cancer.

Epidemiological findings on the relation between foods and colon cancer are inconsistent. Many, but far from all, found positive associations for meat and fat and negative ones for vegetables and fruits. Explanations so far have focused on direct biochemical conversions in the colon or transit time, but they remain unable to explain the contradictory observations. One aspect grossly ignored has been bacterially produced heat which is beyond somatic control. A present day affluent lifestyle includes a more sedentary life, the strongest of all risk factors for colon cancer, with more sitting and less diffusion of bacterial heat, more fat and sugar, rich in energy and less of energy poor foods like cereals. A temperature higher by less than 1 degrees C in the colon over decades may promote tumour growth to a distinguishable extent.

Dietary patterns in high and low consumers of meat in a Swedish cohort study.

The objective was to examine relationships between meat and other food items which have been associated with higher risk of cancer in the colon and prostate in some epidemiological studies. The study was conducted as a population-based cohort study comprising 11648 subjects (4816 male and 6742 female) born between 1926 and 1945 and living in the city of Malmö, Sweden. Data on mean daily intake of foods and nutrients were assessed with a diet history method combining a 7-day menu book and a food frequency questionnaire. Increasing meat intake, expressed in quintiles and adjusted for energy, was associated with decreasing intakes of poultry, fish, fruits, bread, cereals and cheese in both sexes. Low negative correlations between meat intake and ascorbic acid (r= -0.11) and fiber (r= -0.16 to -0.20) were noted. The average intake of fat from meat out of total fat intake was 13.6% in men and 11.9% in women. No major associations were noted between meat and the cholesterol raising fatty acids C:12:0, C:14:0, C:160 nor for C:20:4 or its precursor C:18:2. In conclusion, our findings indicate that meat consumption is negatively associated with food groups rich in antioxidants and fiber and the positive covariance reported between meat and cancer and coronary heart disease might, therefore, not be directly linked to components in meat.

Diet and colorectal cancer mortality: secular trends over 30 years in 15 European countries.

Many western European countries have increased consumption of meat and fat conspicuously from 1961 to 1990 according to FAO 'food disappearance' data. These trends within countries compare well with intake data obtained by weighing and questionnaires. For three countries more meat and fat is combined with small changes in plant foods, but nevertheless standardized mortalities from colorectal cancer drop. For nine countries meat, fat and plant foods increase and mortalities drop. For two countries, there is moderately more meat, fat and plant foods increase, and in one there is drastically more meat and a high consumption of plant foods, associated with rising mortalities. Overall, there is no consistent pattern.

Mycobacterium phlei PN-bb colonies: a morphological characterisation by scanning and transmission electron microscopy.

Colonies of a non-acid-fast mutant of Mycobacterium phlei--termed "PN--bb"--were examined by scanning electron microscopy of gold-sputted whole colonies and by transmission electron microscopy of thin sections. Inspection of the colonies before and after preparation showed that the fixed colonies had retained their original appearance. Colonies are about 2-5 mm in height and width. They are made up of converging ridges forming a cone. These ridges consists of rounded bodies which are made up of clustered cells. The top of the cone consists of small, rugged, irregular structures. Thin sections show that the cells are arranged close together, without interconnections but with some electron-dense material between them. The colony is covered with a layer of unknown composition.