Proteins in foods suppress gut tumors
Researchers led by Hiroshi Ohno at the RIKEN Center for Integrative medical sciences (IMS) in Japan have discovered that food antigens like milk proteins help keep tumors from growing in our guts, specifically the small intestines. Experiments revealed how these proteins trigger the intestinal immune system, allowing it to effectively stop the birth of new tumors. The study was published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology. Food antigens get a lot of negative press because they are the source of allergic reactions to foods such as peanuts, shellfish, bread, eggs, and milk. Even when they don’t lead to allergic reactions, these antigens—along with the many others found in plants and beans—are still considered foreign objects that need to be checked out by the immune system. Ohno and his team have previously reported that food antigens activate immune cells in…




