Exploring Diet’s Role in Colon Cancer Risk
For years, research on colon cancer had linked high intake of fiber to lower risk of colon cancer. Scientists consistently observed that populations consuming diets high in fiber had lower risk for colon cancer.
18/07/06 During the International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer in Washington, DC, a spokesman for the nation’s leading diet-cancer authority pointed to a shift in the focus of research exploring diet’s role in colon cancer risk.
“Until recently, researchers studying colon cancer have concentrated on the potential protective effect of diets high in fiber. Today we see more and more investigations into the harmful effect of diets high in meat,” said Jeffrey R. Prince, Vice President for Education for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).
He spoke at the end of a press conference in which Dr. Stephen O’Keefe of the University of Pittsburgh described his research associating high incidence of colon cancer among African Americans with that group’s meat intake, which is higher than the national average. Dr. O’Keefe’s work focuses on gut bacteria that produce carcinogenic by-products when intake of meat is high. AICR’s Prince cited O’Keefe’s small but suggestive study as one of many exploring the relation of meat to colon cancer.
For years, research on colon cancer had linked high intake of fiber to lower risk of colon cancer. Scientists consistently observed that populations consuming diets high in fiber had lower risk for colon cancer.
Laboratory studies suggested a number of plausible mechanisms to explain the connection, including fiber’s tendency to bind to potentially harmful bile acids, and its capacity to increase the bulk of matter moving through the intestine. This increase in bulk helps the body eliminate waste faster, reducing the amount of time the sensitive tissues lining the colon spend in contact with dietary carcinogens.
