This is from a report that I seen on the news tonight. It aired from Channel 16 in Scranton which covered the Colossal Colon in Selinsgrove, PA in September. Their link is www.wnep.com
JAMA: Fiber Doesn't Fight Colon Cancer, But Helps Prevent Other Conditions
Web Links
Fiber
Harvard Medical School
JAMA
I guess this is new a study to goes AGAINST alot of what we were taught. The reporter on the story was Jill Garrett. You can reach her at jill.garrett@wnep.com
Some studies have shown that eating fiber can reduce your risk of colon cancer. A new study finds that may not be the case. But, don't cut the fiber from your diet just yet.
A huge study finds fiber does not reduce the risk of colon cancer after all. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have fiber in your diet.
Lots of people thought that eating fruits, vegetables, cereals and whole grains could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer. But a new study, in JAMA, tells a different story.
Stephanie Smith-Warner, is one of the researchers, "We found that eating a high-fiber diet was not associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer."
Smith-Warner and colleagues at the Harvard University School of Medicine were part of a huge, international study. It had thirteen different studies within it, tracking the health and fiber-eating habits of more than 725,000 people for up to 20-years. About 8,000 of those people developed colorectal cancer.
"We found that people who ate higher amounts of fiber had the same risk of developing colorectal cancer as individuals who ate lower amounts of fiber," Smith-Warner says. And, it didn't matter what kind of fiber, none of it affected colorectal cancer.
But, eating lots of fiber did lower the risk of "rectal cancer" a bit, and fiber has been shown to help reduce your heart disease and diabetes risk. "So it's still important to eat a high-fiber diet," she says.
Even if it doesn't prevent colorectal cancer, Jane Stevens, a consumer, eats plenty of fiber in her diet, "I think I'll just keep on eating fiber anyway because it just seems like, you know, fruits and vegetables and cereals and grains, just seems like those are gonna be good for you whether or not they prevent cancer." She's right, they are.
If you do want to reduce the risk of colon cancer: Don't smoke, do limit the amount of red meat you eat and the alcohol you drink, and do get regular exercise.
The full report is in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association