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Protective effect of fibre against cancer confirmed
A fibre-rich diet does, after all, reduce the risk
of developing colorectal cancer, a large European study has shown. The
EPIC (European Prospective Investigation of Cancer and Nutrition) study
involved 400,000 people in nine countries. The group that consumed the
most fibre reduced their risk of colorectal cancer by as much as 40 per
cent.
The findings contradict recent reports suggesting
that high fibre consumption does not have a protective effect. Professor
Nick Day, head of the EPIC team, University of Cambridge, commented that
those results were based on much narrower studies than EPIC. “The people
recruited for EPIC have much greater variations in their eating habits.
This wide-ranging study is likely to give us a much truer picture of the
links between diet and cancer,” he said.
The EPIC study also confirmed that eating fruit
and vegetables reduces the incidence of cancers of the colon, rectum and
upper respiratory/digestive tract. However, protection against stomach
and lung cancer was not confirmed. Daily consumption of 500g or more of
fruit and vegetables is sufficient to reduce the incidence of upper respiratory/digestive
cancer by 50 per cent. Colon cancer risk was increased by high consumption
of preserved meats, such as ham, bacon and salami, and reduced by high
fish consumption. Red meat and poultry did not seem to be associated with
an increased risk of colon or rectum cancer. Commenting on the results,
Professor Gordon McVie, director general, Cancer Research Campaign, said:
“We should all now aim to include wholegrain bread and cereals as well
as the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables in our daily
diet.”
The worst news concerned alcohol and tobacco. EPIC
found that smoking a pack of cigarettes a day increased the risk of upper
respiratory/digestive cancer by eight times and that a daily alcohol intake
equivalent to one standard bottle of wine increased the risk by nine times.
However, the risk was increased by 50 times for people who both smoked
and drank these amounts.
The EPIC results were presented last week at a European
conference on nutrition and cancer in Lyons, France.
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