🧬 The Gut Poison Hiding in Your Childhood: A Doctor’s Perspective on the Silent Colon Cancer Threat

Why are so many young adults suddenly being diagnosed with colorectal cancer?

As a cancer doctor, I’ve spent years looking for answers. Now, emerging science may have uncovered a terrifying clue: a microbial toxin called colibactin, produced by certain strains of E. coli, may be the missing link. And it’s not just a problem for adults. Many of us were first exposed to it in childhood, through ultra-processed foods, low-fiber diets, and disrupted gut microbiomes.

In this essay, I dive into:

• The rising tide of early-onset colon cancer
• The gut bacteria that may be behind it
• How your diet, especially in childhood, could have set the stage
• And what you can do to reduce your risk starting today

We can’t change the past. But we can arm ourselves with knowledge—and act.

Here’s an excerpt:

Colorectal cancer used to be a disease of the old. Not anymore.

I used to think cancer was mostly about genetics, age, or a few bad habits picked up in adulthood.

But something alarming is happening: colorectal cancer — once a disease of the old — is now rising fast among people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

By 2030, colorectal cancer is projected to be the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50.

As a cancer doctor, I’ve seen it firsthand.

And I’ve been asking: Why?

A Cancer-Causing Toxin in the Gut

New research published in Nature points to a stealthy villain: colibactin, a DNA-damaging toxin made by certain strains of gut bacteria, including E. coli.

While scientists have known for years that colibactin could damage cells, this study found something more disturbing:

People under 40 with colorectal cancer are more than three times as likely to have colibactin-linked mutations in their tumors compared to older adults.

That means the seeds of cancer may be sown not in middle age, but in childhood.

Maybe even earlier.

Colibactin alone isn’t the whole story.

Roughly a third of us carry colibactin-producing bacteria, and most never develop cancer.

So what’s the missing piece?

It might be this: fiber.

The Fiber Shield

A second study in Nature Microbiology offers a critical clue: fiber.

When researchers fed mice a low-fiber diet, colibactin-producing bacteria flourished.

Gut inflammation rose.

Tumors followed.

But when those same mice received fermentable fiber—like that found in beans, oats, and apples, their inflammation dropped, and tumor formation slowed.

In humans, the data tracks: for every 10 grams of fiber consumed daily (about a cup of lentils), colorectal cancer risk drops by 10%.

The Microbiome Is Molded Early

📖 Read the full story The Gut Poison Hiding in Your Childhood here: https://medium.com/beingwell/the-gut-poison-hiding-in-your-childhood-2e91c8e5b9ce?sk=523d3c4903f224c6b63816be71a0c119