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Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer (1982) / Chapter Skim
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8 Dietary Fiber
Pages 130-137

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From page 130...
... EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE The epidemiological data on fiber are related primarily to its possible role in protection against large bowel cancer. Several different mechanisms have been proposed for this protective effect: Fiber can dilute carcinogens present in the large bowel; it can decrease transit time, thereby decreasing contact time between carcinogen and tissue; it can affect the production of putative carcinogens or procarcinogens in the stool such as the bile acids; or, by influencing the composition and metabolic activity of the fecal flora, it can alter the spectrum of fecal bile acids and their derivatives that are present in the stool.
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From page 131...
... They found no significant correlation between total fiber intake and corresponding mortality rates for colon and rectal cancers. However, the mean intakes of the pentosan fraction of total dietary fiber and of vegetables other than potatoes were inversely correlated with mortality from colon cancer.
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From page 132...
... Studies of the composition of bile acids in the feces of humans are reviewed in Chapter 5. EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE A variety of chemical carcinogens cause colon cancer in rats.
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From page 133...
... When the carcinogen was given by intrarectal instillation, alfalfa enhanced carcinogenesis, but pectin and bran were not protective. Alfalfa has a relatively strong ability to bind bile acids (Story and Kritchevsky, 1976~.
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From page 134...
... Thus, the epidemiological evidence suggesting an inverse relationship between total fiber intake and the occurrence of colon cancer is not yet compelling. In the only study in which the effects of individual components of fiber were assessed, there was an inverse correlation between the incidence of colon cancer and the consumption of the pentosan fraction of fiber (found in whole wheat products)
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From page 135...
... 1981. Effect of chronic intake of dietary fibers on the ultrastructural topography of rat jejunum and colon: A scanning electron microscopy study.
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From page 136...
... 1977. Dietary factors in a study of cancer colon from cancer registry, with special reference to the role of saliva, milk and fermented milk products and vegetable fibre.
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From page 137...
... 1977. Dimethylhydrazine-induced colon tumors in rats fed diets containing beef fat or corn oil with and without wheat bran.
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Key Terms

  • colon cancer
  • total fiber
  • fiber intake
  • bile acids
  • colorectal cancer

  • fiber content
  • fiber consumption
  • bowel cancer
  • low risk
  • epidemiological evidence

  • transit time
  • epidemiological studies
  • individual components
  • thereby decreasing
  • chemical carcinogens

  • protective effect
  • total dietary
  • contact time
  • pentosan fraction
  • cancer incidence

  • fiber diets
  • colonic neoplasia
  • metabolic activity
  • inversely correlated
  • specific components

  • low fiber
  • purified cellulose
  • rats fed
  • food items
  • crude fiber


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