Switching to a fiber-rich diet may lower colon cancer risk in blacks
Switching from a “Western” diet with lots of fat and meat to a fiber-rich diet for just two weeks makes conditions in the large intestine less favorable to the development of colon cancer. The opposite switch may promote the formation of cancer.
That’s the conclusion from a small but elegant study done in urban Pittsburgh and rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It adds to a growing body of research that diet plays a large role in the development of colon cancer. The study also points a finger at bacteria living in the intestines, known as the gut microbiome, as a key link between diet and colon cancer.
An international team of researchers recruited 20 African American men and women living in Pittsburgh and 20 Africans living in KwaZulu-Natal. All of the volunteers had their diets scrutinized and their gut microbiomes analyzed. They also underwent colonoscopy. This inspection of the large intestine (the colon) showed that nine of the 20 Americans had polyps, small growths in the lining of the colon that can develop into cancer. No polyps were found in any of the 20 South Africans.
(More from Harvard Health Blog)
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