Does Fiber Affect Colon Cancer Risk?

Health specialists say that a healthy diet helps to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer . What they’ve yet to agree on is how particular dietary components–fiber, body fat, calcium–can impact that risk. 1 nutrient which is in particular flux is dietary fiber, as 2 scientific studies made public previously this season casts some doubt on the possible cancer-protective advantages of a high-fiber diet plan. To add to the confusion, research in Faculté de Médecine de Dijon, France implies that fiber supplements may very well promote colon growths in some individuals.

What task for fiber in colon cancer prevention?

For this recent research, European researchers chosen 552 individuals with a history of colorectal adenomas. (Adenomas, or even growths, on the wall of the colon are a risk factor for cancer). Participants were separated into 3 groups. One group consumes 2 grams of calcium supplement; one taken 3 .5 grams of soluble fiber supplement; as well as the individuals in the 3rd group consumed an inactive (placebo) supplement. Doctors initially examined the colons of participants by means of colonoscopy, and eliminated most visible adenomas. The individuals were examined again at the end of the three-year research.

The researchers state that regarding 16% of those who received supplemental calcium and 29% of those who received fiber supplements developed further adenomas over the 3 years of the research. Conversely, 20% of those who received the placebo supplements had adenomas removed at the end of the research. With these outcomes, the researchers concluded that calcium supplements provided individuals some slight protection from the growths that usually precipitate colon cancer, but that dietary fiber supplements basically improved the participants’ risk of developing these pre-cancerous growths .

Fiber supplements don’t make a high-fiber diet

Did the dietary fiber supplement used in this research actually cause more growths? Several flaws in the study’s design help make this problematic to judge. But the outcomes of this research do highlight the weaknesses of relying on dietary supplements to help to make a diet “healthier.” Research individuals were not needed to make any modifications to their diet programs or even life styles besides to consume the dietary supplements. The 3.5 grams of soluble dietary fiber tested in this research are equal to regarding 1 rounded teaspoon of a fiber supplement like Metamucil.

That’s enough to help keep an individual “regular,” but not enough to extensively increase the fiber content of a person’s diet. The fact is, the authors of this research say that their discovery should not keep people from selecting a diet plan which includes a number of fresh vegetables and fruit and also complete grain foods. These foods and substances contain nutrients and substances rather than fiber which are required for a healthy body. The American Institute for Cancer Research shows that veggies, for instance, are not only a great source of dietary fiber, but also gives carotenoids, vitamin C, folic acid, and many sorts of phytochemicals, all these things can assist minimize the risk of colon cancer. In other words, this research has not changed the definition of a healthful diet. It has, though, illustrated the difficulty of allocating disease-fighting properties of individual food components, in this case, calcium and fiber.