Bowel Cancer Risk Reduced by Eating Whole Grains, Bran, Fiber Rich Foods

New research has confirmed that eating high fibre cereals, and other other foods naturally rich in fibre, appear to be effective in helping prevent colorectal cancer.

Eating whole grains and dietary fibre and is well known to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but the benefits for reducing the risk of colorectal cancer has been less clear because various studies have produced inconsistent results. Although there is on-going debate, researchers from Imperial College London conducted a major review study and concluded that eating an extra 10g of fibre a day reduced the risk of bowel cancer by about 10 percent. However reviews of 25 previous studies showed that the natural fibre in fruit and vegetable was not very effective.

The study published in the British Medical Journal, showed an association between increasing amounts of fibre in the diet from whole grains and cereals and lower risk of colorectal cancer.

How fiber in the diet is associated with reduced risk
How fiber in the diet is associated with reduced risk. Source: see https://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d6617

Whole grains include foods such as whole grain unprocessed cereals, whole grain breads, brown rice, porridge and oatmeal. Many breakfast cereals available in various countries have high fibre levels (such as All-Bran), and other food have extra fibre added to them. But consumer should be careful of the salt and sugar contents of these processed foods. The research analysis produced a direct linear association between dietary fibre and colorectal cancer (see image). The implication of this is that the more extra fibre you eat the better for reducing the risk. Even moderate amounts have some effect according to the researcher. Adding just three servings (90g per day) of whole grains in your daily diet was associated with an expected 20 percent reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer.

However, there are various conflicting studies in the literature and there has been a called for future research to better identify the cause and effect relationships and they the of food and diet/ lifestyle relationships the beneficial effects of fibre. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15824154 A large 2005 study investigated the link between dietary fibre intake and the incidence of rectal and colon and cancers in two large groups of subjects over many years: the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (that included 47,279 men) and the Nurses' Health Study (that included 76,947 women). These studies and did not indicate an important association between fibre intake and colorectal cancer and showed that there were likely to be many dietary and lifestyle factors linked with the risk. The large recent review included an assessment of these results, and it is significant that the value of fibre in fruit and vegetables as been downgraded.

The researchers in the recent British Medical Journal also said that the benefits of increasing whole grains in the diet and high fibre intake had other health benefits apart from reduced risk for colorectal cancer. Whole foods and whole grains in the diet are also associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, reduced tendency to be overweight and obese, and possibly increase life-span. However the researchers have stated that a lot more work is needed to clearly identify the quantity, food type and kinds of fibre that people should be consuming to reduce risk. The researchers recommend a healthy balanced diet, based on whole foods, which includes lots of dietary fibre in foods such as cereals, grains, fruit and vegetables to reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer.

In an accompanying editorial in the British Medical Journal, Professor Anne Tjonneland from the Danish Cancer Society, stated that a lot of work should be done to help make whole grain products more appealing to consumers and their health benefits must be more actively promoted by health authorities. This includes the development of a simple labelling system to help consumers to choose high fibre whole grain foods instead of heavily processed cereal based foods such as white bread and white rice.

High Fibre Foods

Food
Portion
Fiber
Fibre/Cup
Corn bran, raw
1 ounce
22 g
88g
Oat bran, raw
1 ounce
12 g
48g
Wheat bran, raw
1 ounce
12 g
48g
Fiber One Bran Cereal
1/2 cup
14 g
28g
Rye flour, dry
1/4 cup
7 g
28g
Rice bran, raw
1 ounce
6 g
24g
Amaranth, grain
1/4 cup
6 g
24g
Teff, grain, dry
1/4 cup
6 g
24g
Crackers, rye wafers
1 ounce
6 g
24g
All-Bran Cereal
1/2 cup
10 g
20g
Triticale, flour, dry
1/4 cup
5 g
20g
Wheat berries, dry
1/4 cup
5 g
20g
Wheat flour (whole wheat), dry
1/4 cup
4 g
16g
Fiber One Chewy Bars
1 bar
9 g
9g
Oats (old fashioned), dry
1/2 cup
4 g
8g
Bulgur, cooked
1 cup
8 g
8g
Barley, pearled, cooked
1 cup
6 g
6g
Buckwheat groats, cooked
1 cup
5 g
5g
Quinoa, cooked
1 cup
5 g
5g
Brown rice, cooked
1 cup
4 g
4g
Wild rice, cooked
1 cup
3 g
3g
Popcorn, air popped
3 cups
4 g
2g
Millet, cooked
1 cup
2 g
2g
Bread (whole wheat), sliced
1 slice
2 g
2g
Beans
     
Navy beans, cooked
1 cup
19 g
19g
White beans, small, cooked
1 cup
19 g
19g
Yellow beans, cooked
1 cup
18 g
18g
Adzuki beans, cooked
1 cup
17 g
17g
Black turtle soup beans, cooked
1 cup
17 g
17g
French beans, cooked
1 cup
17 g
17g
Lentils, cooked
1 cup
16 g
16g
Cranberry beans, cooked
1 cup
16 g
16g
Kidney beans, cooked
1 cup
16 g
16g
Black beans, cooked
1 cup
15 g
15g
Mung beans, cooked
1 cup
15 g
15g
Pinto beans, cooked
1 cup
15 g
15g
Lima beans, cooked
1 cup
14 g
14g
Garbanzo beans, cooked
1 cup
12 g
12g
Broad beans (fava), cooked
1 cup
9 g
9g
Fiber Boosted Foods
     
Wheat Bread
1 slice
5 g
5g
Bob's Red Mill Organic High Fiber Hot Cerea
1/3 cup, dry
10 g
30g
Weight Watcher's Flakes 'N Fibe
1/2 cup
9 g
18g
Gnu Foods High Fiber Bar
1 bar
12 g
12g
Fiber One Yoplait Yogurt
4 ounces
5 g
10g
Silk Soy Milk Plus Fiber
1 cup
5 g
5g
Wasa Crispbread, Fiber Rye
2 slices
4 g
4g
Tropicana Orange Juice With Fiber
1 cup
3 g
3g

Fibre in Breakfast Cereals

Product brand / name
Total dietary fibre (g/100g) (%)
Fibre per cup (125g)
Calories per 100g
Calories per cup (125g)
Very high fibre Uncle Tobys BranPlus
39.5
49g
312
390
Golden Vale (Aldi) - Just Bran
39.5
49g
312
390
Coles Smart Buy Processed wheat bran
37.5
47g
326
408
Ecor Bran sticks
33
41g
258
322
Coles Bran start
31.9
40g
271
339
Kellogg's All bran original
29.5
37g
329
411
Goodness Superfoods Protein 1st
29.4
37g
372
465
Woolworths Home Brand Processed bran
28.9
36g
281
351
Vogel's Ultra Bran soy & linseed
28.1
35g
336
420
Goodness Superfoods Digestive 1st
25.7
32g
360
450
Uncle Tobys Vita brits High Fibre bites Brown sugar & cinnamon
21.4
27g
347
434
Kellogg's Guardian
21.2
27g
346
432
Uncle Toby's VitaBrits High Fibre bites HONEY
20.4
26g
349
437
High fibre Kellogg's All bran Dual
19.9
25g
350
438
Kellogg's All bran wheat flakes original
19.2
24g
343
429
Sanitarium Weet-Bix Hi-Bran
18.3
23g
358
447
Kellogg's Special K Advantage
15.6
20g
355
444
Uncle Tobys Plus fibre lift (A)
15.5
19g
343
429
Uncle Tobys Plus Sultanas' n Bran (B)
14.9
19g
353
441
Kellogg's Sultana Bran
14.9
19g
338
423
Sanitarium Fibre Life Bran & Oats with berry
14.2
18g
365
456
Weight Watchers Flakes bran, apricot, sultana
13.8
17g
362
453
Uncle Tobys Health Wise for digestive wellbeing (A)
13.3
17g
372
465
Abundant Earth Puffed corn
13.2
17g
386
483
Uncle Tobys Shredded wheat
13.2
17g
358
447
Kellogg's Sultana Bran Buds
13.2
17g
343
429
Kellogg's Mini-wheats wholegrain '5 grains'
12.2
15g
362
453
Sanitarium Weet-Bix lite
12.2
15g
355
444
Sanitarium Fibre Life Bran Flakes
12
15g
358
447
Uncle Tobys Vita Brits Weeties
12
15g
365
456
IGA Signature Wheat Flakes
12
15g
365
456
Uncle Tobys VitaBrits
11.9
15g
362
453
Coles Organic Wheat Biscuits
11.4
14g
355
444
Uncle Tobys Plus Sports Lift
11.3
14g
353
441
Coles Right Start fruit & fibre
11.3
14g
365
456
Sanitarium Weet-Bix
11
14g
358
447
Sanitarium Weet-Bix Organic
11
14g
358
447
Coles Smart Buy Wheat biscuits
11
14g
366
458
IGA Signature wheat biscuits
11
14g
353
441
Black & Gold Wheat Biscuits
11
14g
353
441
Sanitarium Weet-Bix kids
11
14g
355
444
Uncle Tobys Health Wise for heart wellbeing
10.9
14g
384
480
Uncle Tobys Oat brits 1000g
10.9
14g
377
471
Freedom Foods Cocoa puffs
10.9
14g
367
459
Coles Whole wheat biscuits
10.9
14g
382
477
Woolworths Home Brand Wheat Biscuits
10.5
13g
362
453
Freedom Foods Corn Flakes
10.5
13g
386
483
Golden Vale (Aldi) - Wheat Biscuits
10.5
13g
362
453
Uncle Tobys Plus muesli flakes
10.5
13g
362
452
Uncle Tobys Cheerios honey and oats
10.3
13g
382
477
Freedom Foods Rice puffs
10.2
13g
370
462
Uncle Tobys Cheerios
10.1
13g
379
474
Golden Vale (Aldi) - Healthy Start fruit n nut
10.1
13g
413
516
         




Most of the healthy nutrients in wheat are in the bran and germ which are removed when grain is processed
Most of the healthy nutrients in wheat are in the bran and germ which are removed when grain is processed . Source: Public Domain
It is hard to get enough whole grains in the diet as the supermarket shelves are stuffed full of the processed stuff.
It is hard to get enough whole grains in the diet as the supermarket shelves are stuffed full of the processed stuff. Source: Public Domain
Can't get enough of the good whole grain stuff. Learn how healthy it is in this article
Can't get enough of the good whole grain stuff. Learn how healthy it is in this article. Source: Public Domain
Whole grains pack their goodness in the bran and germ of the grains
Whole grains pack their goodness in the bran and germ of the grains. Source: Public Domain
There are a wide range of whole grain rice varieties to choose from, if you can find them
There are a wide range of whole grain rice varieties to choose from, if you can find them. Source: Public Domain
Whole-Grain Veggie Burrito Bowl Recipe - see more recipes and nutrition fats in this article
Whole-Grain Veggie Burrito Bowl Recipe - see more recipes and nutrition fats in this article. Source: Public Domain
High-Fiber Whole Grain Recipes are showcased in this article
High-Fiber Whole Grain Recipes are showcased in this article. Source: Public Domain
Multi-Grain Bread with Sesame, Flax and Poppy Seeds
Multi-Grain Bread with Sesame, Flax and Poppy Seeds . Source: Public Domain