How Sources of Dietary Fat Influence Cancer Growth in Obesity

One kind of dietary fat cripples your immune response to cancer

It's well established that obesity significantly increases your risk of many types of cancer, but a decade-long study has uncovered that there are specific dietary fat drivers that promote tumor growth – and others that don't. In this landmark study, scientists found that animal fats – butter, lard and beef tallow – impair the immune system's response to tumors, however, plant-based fats like palm, coconut, and olive oil don’t. And some of these…

How Sources of Dietary Fat Influence Cancer Growth in Obesity

Obesity elevates the risk for at least 13 major cancers, including those of the breast, colon and liver. It also impairs immune responses that target tumors and are stimulated by cancer immunotherapies. But it has long been unclear whether these effects stem from the sheer adiposity--or mass of fat--in people living with obesity or from the specific dietary fats they consume.