Fiber, Anyone?

People who have followed the back-and-forth about the health benefits of fiber should be forgiven for feeling like spectators at a tennis match. Yes, a high-fiber diet does fight colon cancer, one study says. No, it doesn’t, another smashes back. Now the ball has landed once again on the “yes” side of the net. A recent issue of The Lancet reports on two extensive studies on the subject, both of which found a link between a high-fiber diet and a lower risk of colo-rectal cancer. One of the studies, conducted by the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, looked at the fiber intake and colon health of more than 38,000 people in ten regions of the country with different dietary practices. People with high-fiber diets were found to have about a third less chance of developing the disease than people on the low end of the fiber-intake scale. The beneficial effects were most pronounced when the fiber came from cereals, fruits, and grains. The other study focused on more than half a million people in ten European countries. It concluded that those who didn’t normally eat much fiber could reduce their risk of colon cancer by up to 40 percent by doubling their intake. These are pretty impressive numbers. According to the journal, they provide “fresh impetus” to conduct a definitive clinical trial to settle the matter once and for all. But until you hear someone yell, “Game, set, match!”, keep eating your fruits and grains.