Embargoed for Release Until: Sunday, October 11, 1998, 6:00 p.m. Contact: Dana Victor Montenegro 202/973-5871 or [email protected]
New Study Finds Polyunsaturated Fats Help Reduce H. pylori Infection and May Protect Against Gastric Cancer
Boston, MA, October 11, 1998 -- Scientific findings presented at the 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology suggest that polyunsaturated fats, including olive oil, sunflower oil, and fish oil, effectively inhibit the growth of Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium responsible for many ulcers and associated with gastric cancer.
Making certain fatty acids more unsaturated increases their anti-bacterial potency. To investigate this further, researchers led by Duane Smoot, MD at Howard University Hospital conducted a detailed dose response study of the inhibition of growth of H. pylori by linoleic acid, the major component of many polyunsaturated fats and other commonly used oils. Dr. Smoot and his colleagues found that the polyunsaturated fats inhibited the growth of H. pylori; saturated fats, including coconut oil and palm oil, showed no ability to inhibit the bacterium.
According to Dr. Smoot, "diets rich in polyunsaturated fats may have a beneficial effect in preventing gastric cancer and reducing ulcer recurrence by limiting the growth of H. pylori."
For several years, physicians have known that most ulcers arise because of the presence of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Because H. pylori exists in the stomachs of some people who do not develop ulcers, scientists now believe that ulcers occur in persons who have a combination of a genetic predisposition, plus the presence of Helicobacter pylori. With medical treatment, usually a combination of antibiotics and acid suppressors, the vast majority of H. pylori induced ulcers can be cured.
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