Fiber-rich food has anti-cancer properties, says study

When your mum says to eat your beans, nuts, cruciferous veggies, avocados, and other fiber-rich foods, listen to her. A fiber-rich diet is not only beneficial to your gut health but also has powerful

anti-cancer properties

. A new study suggests that a high-fiber diet may play a significant role in reducing the risk of certain cancers.
Though fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet, less than 10% of Americans eat the minimum recommended amount.

A new study from Stanford Medicine suggests that fiber has anti-cancer effects. The researchers found the direct epigenetic effects of two common byproducts of fiber digestion and found that some of the alterations in gene expression had anti-cancer actions.

The research is published in Nature Metabolism journal.

In the study, the researchers found that when we eat fiber, the gut microbiome produces short-chain fatty acids. These compounds serve more than being an energy source. For a long time, scientists have suspected these compounds to indirectly affect gene function. In this study, the researchers traced how the

short-chain fatty acids

propionate and butyrate, altered gene expression in healthy human cells, in treated and untreated human colon cancer cells, and mouse intestines.
They found that direct epigenetic changes at specific genes responsible for regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, or programmed cell death, are crucial for disrupting or controlling the uncontrolled cell growth associated with cancer.
“We found a direct link between eating fiber and modulation of gene function that has anti-cancer effects, and we think this is likely a global mechanism because the short-chain fatty acids that result from fiber digestion can travel all over the body. It is generally the case that people’s diets are very fiber-poor, and that means their microbiome is not being fed properly and cannot make as many short-chain fatty acids as it should. This is not doing our health any favors,” Michael Snyder, PhD, Stanford W. Ascherman, MD, FACS Professor in Genetics said in a release.

As the rates of colon cancer in younger adults are rising, the findings of this study emphasize the importance of making mindful diet choices.

“By identifying the gene targets of these important molecules we can understand how fiber exerts its beneficial effects and what goes wrong during cancer,” Snyder added.