Meat and health, a new scientific research highlights the positive effects of animal proteins on the body: it has been discovered today that food antigens, particular protein substances contained in meat, eggs and milk (bovine serum albumin and ovalbumin), could stop intestinal tumors. This was revealed by a recent study by scientists at the Rikena Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (Ims) in Japan, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology. The Japanese researchers have, in fact, identified food antigens, contained in meat, milk and eggs, capable of blocking small intestine cancer. This is an extraordinary discovery, which could exonerate meat from the accusations of the past.

“After years in which meat and foods of animal origin have been constantly demonized,” says Elisabetta Bernardi , a specialist in food science, biologist and nutritionist, professor at the University of Bari, “it is important to underline how the scientific evidence collected so far, restores to the proteins of meat, milk and its derivatives and eggs, a beneficial role for our body, even for intestinal diseases, in contrast with the widespread idea that meat consumption is harmful to health and that a plant-based diet is always the best choice for healthy longevity and health in general”.

Why is the role of antigens so important? Antigens are those components capable of provoking an immune response, therefore the production of specific antibodies by the body, to protect itself from a certain disease. According to the results of the study, it emerges that the antigens bovine serum albumin and ovalbumin, which are found respectively in beef and bovine milk and in egg white, are able to activate immune cells of the small intestine capable of suppressing intestinal tumorigenesis, therefore the formation of tumors in the small intestine.

According to the data from the RIKEN study, mice fed an antigen-free diet developed more tumors than mice fed a normal diet, while mice fed antigens suppressed intestinal tumorigenesis. This suggests that the lack of tumor formation is directly related to the presence of antigens, which positively influenced the killer T cells in the small intestine, which are responsible for attacking tumor cells. In addition to protecting against tumors, these antigens can also help with serious gastrointestinal conditions, such as Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome.

And that's not all. Confirming the positive role of meat for intestinal health, a recent study published in PubMed has highlighted how a ketogenic carnivorous diet can be therapeutic against inflammatory bowel disease.

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