Medical Bulletin 29/December/2025

Buccal mucosa cancer affects the inner lining of the cheeks and accounts for a majority of oral cancer cases in India. It is a fast spreading disease with a five year survival rate of just around 43%. While tobacco has long been recognized as a primary cause, alcohol often plays an overlooked yet dangerous role. To understand its impact, researchers from six cancer centres across India analyzed the drinking habits of 1,803 male patients diagnosed with BMC and 1,903 cancer free men between 2010 and 2021.

The team assessed different types of alcoholic beverages—from globally known drinks like beer and whisky to locally distilled varieties such as desi daru, tharra, and mahua, often consumed in rural areas. Using statistical models that adjusted for tobacco use and other confounders, they discovered that men who had ever consumed alcohol faced a 68% higher risk of developing buccal mucosa cancer compared to lifelong abstainers. Alarmingly, even those drinking under 9 grams of alcohol a day—less than one standard drink—showed a measurable increase in risk, revealing that there may be no safe limit.

Locally brewed liquors were found to be particularly hazardous. Ever users of country liquor had almost double the risk, with tharra and desi daru topping the danger list, while beer and whisky were consistently associated with elevated risk even at low consumption levels. The study also revealed a potent synergy between alcohol and tobacco, especially smokeless forms—together accounting for nearly 60% of all BMC cases in the population studied.

This landmark study sends a clear message: there is no such thing as safe drinking when it comes to oral cancer—and home brewed alcohol may pose an even greater threat.

REFERENCE: George GS, Patil A, Moirangthem R, Doibale PN, Manjrekar A, Golapkar SV, et al. Association of alcohol and different types of alcoholic beverages on the risk of buccal mucosa cancer in Indian men: a multicentre case-control study. BMJ Global Health. 2025;10:e017392. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017392

Researchers Find Vitamin C-Rich Diet May Physically Enhance Skin Quality

Healthy skin might start not from what you put on it—but from what you eat. A new study from the University of Otago, Christchurch (Ōtautahi), has found that simply boosting vitamin C intake through fresh fruit can visibly improve skin health, making it thicker, stronger, and faster at renewing itself. Published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the research provides the first direct evidence that vitamin C from food moves from the bloodstream into the skin’s deepest layers, where it stimulates collagen production and rejuvenation.

Vitamin C is a key nutrient for building collagen—the protein that keeps skin firm and resilient—but the body doesn’t store it for long. While many skincare products contain the vitamin, topical forms often struggle to penetrate the tough outer barrier of the skin. Dietary vitamin C, however, circulates naturally in the blood and can reach every layer of the skin more effectively. The Otago team set out to prove just how much influence diet can have on skin biology.

The researchers followed 24 healthy adults in New Zealand and Germany in a carefully controlled, eight week trial. Participants were asked to eat two vitamin C rich gold kiwifruit (SunGold™) daily—providing about 250 mg of vitamin C, the amount known to saturate blood levels. Using skin biopsy samples and ultrasound imaging, scientists measured vitamin C concentrations in both blood and skin, as well as changes in skin thickness, elasticity, UV protection, and regeneration rates.

The results were striking: increased dietary vitamin C led to higher vitamin C levels within the skin and a measurable rise in skin thickness, reflecting enhanced collagen synthesis and faster outer skin renewal. The association between plasma vitamin C and skin vitamin C was exceptionally strong—more pronounced than in any other organ studied. According to lead author Professor Margreet Vissers, this confirms that skin efficiently absorbs vitamin C from the blood, prioritizing it for repair and defense.

The team suggests that similar benefits can be achieved through other vitamin C rich foods such as citrus, berries, capsicum, and broccoli—not just kiwifruit. Since the body cannot store the vitamin, maintaining consistent intake is crucial. One high vitamin C food a day may be one of the simplest, most natural ways to keep your skin stronger, healthier, and more youthful from the inside out.

REFERENCE: Juliet M. Pullar, Stephanie M. Bozonet, Dörte Segger, Astrid von Seebach, Emma Vlasiuk, Helen R. Morrin, John F. Pearson, Jeremy Simcock, Margreet C.M. Vissers. Improved Human Skin Vitamin C Levels and Skin Function after Dietary Intake of Kiwifruit: A High-Vitamin-C Food. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2025; DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2025.10.587

Common Food Ingredient Found to Influence Children’s Lifelong Health

What a mother eats during pregnancy might shape her child’s gut health for life. A new study from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm has found that dietary emulsifiers—common additives in processed foods—can disrupt the gut microbiota of offspring, even when only the mother consumes them. Published in Nature Communications, the research reveals how these subtle early-life changes may raise the risk of chronic inflammatory bowel conditions and obesity in adulthood, pointing to possible intergenerational effects of modern diet additives.

Emulsifiers are substances added to products like ice cream, baked goods, sauces, and even baby formulas to improve texture and shelf stability. Although considered safe, questions have grown about their impact on the gut microbiome—the trillions of bacteria essential to digestion and immune balance. To explore this, researchers led by Dr. Benoit Chassaing, head of the Microbiome Host Interactions Laboratory at Institut Pasteur, designed a controlled experiment to examine how maternal exposure might ripple across generations.

The team fed female mice two common emulsifiers—carboxymethyl cellulose (E466) and polysorbate 80 (E433)—starting ten weeks before pregnancy and continuing through pregnancy and breastfeeding. Their offspring, which never consumed emulsifiers directly, were then monitored for gut bacterial composition, immune interaction, and long term health outcomes.

The results were striking. Within weeks of birth, the young mice showed major shifts in gut microbiota, particularly a rise in flagellated bacteria that overstimulate immune cells and trigger inflammation. Microscopic analyses revealed that bacterial “encroachment”—bacteria pressing closer to the intestinal wall—was more common in these offspring. This led to an early closure of key gut immune communication pathways, which normally help the immune system learn to tolerate friendly microbes. As a consequence, the offspring developed chronic gut inflammation and higher body fat as they reached adulthood.

The findings highlight an important message: what mothers eat may influence their children’s future health far more deeply than we realize—and understanding these dietary links could be key to preventing gut related diseases for generations to come.

REFERENCE: Clara Delaroque, Héloïse Rytter, Erica Bonazzi, Marine Huillet, Sandrine Ellero-Simatos, Eva Chatonnat, Fuhua Hao, Andrew Patterson, Benoit Chassaing. Maternal emulsifier consumption alters the offspring early-life microbiota and goblet cell function leading to long-lasting diseases susceptibility. Nature Communications, 2025; 16 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62397-3