Common Amino Acid Shows Promise for Healing Gut Damage in Cancer Patients
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MIT researchers have discovered that cysteine, an amino acid readily available in everyday foods like meat, dairy, and nuts, can trigger the body's natural healing processes in the intestines. In studies with mice, a cysteine-rich diet activated immune cells that helped repair gut tissue damaged by radiation treatment, offering hope for developing new dietary therapies to ease cancer patients' treatment side effects.
MIT researchers have discovered that cysteine, an amino acid readily available in everyday foods like meat, dairy, and nuts, can trigger the body’s natural healing processes in the intestines. In studies with mice, a cysteine-rich diet activated immune cells that helped repair gut tissue damaged by radiation treatment, offering hope for developing new dietary therapies to ease cancer patients’ treatment side effects.