GoKawiildynomight · May 2026 · science health
(Yes, but.)
Over the past few years, I’ve seen many articles about mysterious rise in colorectal cancer (CRC) in young people. There are various stories for why this might be happening:
General health. Maybe modern people are unhealthy (obesity, low physical activity, diabetes, poor sleep), leading to insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, meaning faster epithelial cell proliferation and a miscalibrated immune system that fails to stop early cancers?
Ultra-processed food. Maybe people are eating more ultra-processed foods that contain additives (like emulsifiers) that degrade colon mucus, allowing bacteria to contact epithelial cells and drive inflammation? Or maybe ultra-processed food has low fiber and glycemic load, leading to insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, with the problems mentioned above?
Bad meat. Maybe people are eating more red and/or processed meats, which expose the colon to nitrites and secondary bile acids, which inflame the epithelium and promote chronic inflammation?
The microbiome. Maybe it’s the microbiome. For example, maybe people’s guts are getting colonized by strains of E. coli that produce genotoxic colibactin. Or maybe overuse of antibiotics in early life depletes protective bacteria in the gut, allowing harmful strains to expand, e.g. strains of B. fragilis that cause inflammation, or strains of F. nucleatum that can survive in the gut and drive tumor growth?
Environmental exposures. Maybe people are getting exposed to bad stuff in the environment (microplastics, forever chemicals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, air pollution) that does bad stuff (damages gut barrier, screws up the microbiome, disrupts hormonal signaling)?
Maternal health. Maybe poor maternal health (obesity, diabetes) exposes the fetus to elevated glucose / insulin / inflammation, and these in turn program the child for a lifetime of metabolic issues and inflammation?
Whatever. Maybe alcohol / smoking / painkillers / calcium / vitamin D / inflammatory bowel disease / hereditary syndromes / screening bias?
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