Today’s Headlines: The Foods That May Put You at Risk for Colon Cancer, Why Not Exercising Could Lead to Heart Problems, and What You Eat May Be Making You Sleepy

Foods like red meat and full-fat dairy could put your colon at risk. These types of inflammatory foods can irritate your intestines and lead to colon polyps or other tissue abnormalities. “Compared with people whose diets contained the lowest amounts of pro-inflammatory foods, people whose diets contained the highest amounts of pro-inflammatory foods — such as processed meats and red meat — were 56 percent more likely to have one of these polyps…The foods that had the highest inflammation scores were processed meats and red meat, …Dairy foods that contained fat also had pro-inflammatory scores, whereas poultry and fish were neutral… Fruits, vegetables and nonfat dairy, on the other hand, were determined to be anti-inflammatory…” The study only drew the correlation between certain foods and their reactions in the intestines, but researchers suggested that switching to an anti-inflammatory diet may decrease any risk. (Fox)

The time you spend sitting down might be damaging your arteries. Inactivity may increase the likelihood that calcium in your arteries will harden and increasing the risk for blood clots and heart disease. “Research with middle-aged volunteers found that each additional hour of sedentary time was linked to 12 percent higher odds of having calcium buildup in the coronary arteries, an early sign of coronary heart disease…Overall, the volunteers spent between one hour and 11 hours per day sedentary, and spent between zero and 200 minutes a day doing moderate to vigorous physical activity, with an average of 29 minutes.” This was a small study that was done in a small time frame and therefore while the researchers encourage healthy and active lifestyles, they have not proven that calcium buildup is solely caused by being sedentary. (Reuters)

Bacon and other high-fat foods may be the reason you’re sleepy during the day. A small research study showed a potential correlation between diet and sleep. “After adjusting for factors that could influence sleep — smoking, alcohol intake, waist circumference, physical activity, medications, depression and others — they found that compared with those in the lowest one-quarter for fat intake, those in the highest one-quarter were 78 percent more likely to suffer daytime sleepiness and almost three times as likely to have sleep apnea.” More research needs to be done to prove a stronger connection. (NYT)

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