Dietary fibre does protect against bowel cancer
7 May 2010
New research adds to growing evidence that a high-fibre diet protects against developing colorectal (bowel) cancer, an expert says.
A UK case control study* found, based on data from prospective food diaries, that those who consumed an average of 24 grams of fibre per day had a 30 per cent lower risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with those who consumed an average of 10 grams of fibre per day (J Natl Cancer Inst, online 20 April).
Professor Finlay Macrae, head of colorectal medicine and genetics at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, said the findings represented “high-quality” evidence contributing to the debate on the protective effect of fibre on colorectal cancer.
However, in this and previous studies, fibre intake did not show significant protection against colorectal cancer when data was based on retrospective food frequency questionnaires.
Professor Macrae agreed with the authors that use of food frequency questionnaires in previous studies may explain the inconsistent evidence relating fibre intake to a reduction in colorectal cancer risk.
“Food diaries… are more accurate than retrospective judgements,” Professor Macrae said.
Last Reviewed: 07 May 2010
- 1. Dahm CC, Keogh RH, Spencer EA, et al. Dietary fiber and colorectal cancer risk: A nested case control study using food diaries. J Natl Cancer Inst; online 20 April 2010. Abstract available at: http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/djq092v1
