BioProject

Colon cancer, heart disease and diabetes are common serious diseases in the Western world. More...

Colon cancer, heart disease and diabetes are common serious diseases in the Western world. However, more insights into the origins of these diseases are needed. With this project we will better study the connection with meat consumption. In this project we investigate how various properties of meat (e.g. red vs. white meat or fat content), interactions with other dietary compounds (e.g. dietary fiber), and certain processing procedures of meat (e.g. the use of commercial additives) influence the oxidation of protein in meat, the digestibility of meat and also the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids that end up in the large intestine. Fermentation of sulfur-containing amino acids by intestinal bacteria can lead to high formation of certain toxic metabolites that damage the protective mucus layer in the intestine, resulting in DNA damage and inflammation. Less...