The effect of fibre in fruit and vegetables on colorectal cancer

Abstract

Fibre is defined as indigestible remnants of plant carbohydrates. They are classified as indigestible as they cannot be broken down by t he body's enzymes {Perez-Cuet o and Verbeke 2012). It is a major component in fruit and vegetables, as well as in other foods such as cereals and grains. Increase in dietary fibre intake is shown to lower the risk of colorectal cancer {CRC) development, especially with respect to distal colon cancer (Kunzmann et al., 2015). Generally, an intake of lOg of fibre daily has shown to reduce CRC risk by 10% (Song et al., 2018). This, however, mainly refers to the progression of adenomas to CRC. (Kunzmann et al., 2015). Moreover, evidence has shown t hat patients who ingest ed greater amounts of fibre prior to being diagnosed with CRC tended to have a lower mortality rate, with CRC mortality decreasing by 18% with every 5g of fibre consumed. Studies conducted by Kunzmann et al., (2015) did not establish any strong relationships between risk of recurring aden omas and fibre intake, irrespective of the source of fibre, site of adenoma or adenoma progressivity. Research also showed that increasing fibre consumption post-diagnosis of CRC can increase survival chances (Song et al., 2018). [excerpt]