Dietary fibre protects colon cancer by binding to potentially harmful bile acids and decreasing the transit time of the bulk of matter moving through the intestine, thus reducing the amount of time the colon comes in contact with dietary carcinogens including the N-nitroso compounds produced by meat consumption.

The evidence Historically fibre has not always been thought to protect against cancer. A serious blow to dietary fibre protagonists occurred in the year 2000 when three separate clinical trials showed no significant association between fibre intake and the risk of developing polyps following cancer or polyp resection. These trials where most likely to have been negative because of the crucial issue of what they defined as a high and low fibre diet. In the negative USA study the difference in the quantity fibre, between high and low intake, was fairly narrow and the trial also didn’t take into account other factors such as meat intake. On the contrary the positive UK EPIC study, mentioned above, had a large difference in fibre intake between to the two comparative groups and also incorporated meat intake into the analysis.  Furthermore, in the epic trial patients who had a high fibre intake also had a lower red meat intake which was unlikely to be the case in the USA where red meat intake is generally higher. It is this balance of fibre and meat which therefore seems most important rather than one or the other individually. 

In most European countries, the consumption of dietary fibre has been estimated to be around 20g per day. An increased daily intake, to approximately 30g, is encouraged to promote health benefits associated with fibre.

 Tips to increase natural sources of fibre in the diet:- 

• Fruit; apples, figs, prunes, pears
• Berries and grapes
• Legumes: beans, peas.
• Cereals; whole grains, wholemeal porridge
• Seeds; dried pumpkin, sunflower and linseeds.
• Leafy green vegetables, sprouts and hemp
• Root vegetables, squashes, carrots

Recipe tip: Try putting a tablespoon of linseeds in a cup of water before bedtime - in the morning they will be nice and soft - spread on your breakfast cereals or mix with some yogurt and raisins - lovely!

Further general information Your doctors and specialist nurses are in an ideal position to give you relevant information on your disease and treatment as they know your individual circumstances. Cancerbackup has a help line (0808 800 1234) and a prize winning video available in English, Italian, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati & Hindi explaining Radiotherapy & Chemotherapy. Cancernet.co.uk has over 500 pages describing cancer, its management, practical tips and tool which patients, their carers and their doctors have found helpful during the cancer journey.