Abstract
From an evolutionary perspective, the ongoing discussion of fibres role in colorectal cancer is possibly limited by the overall low intake of fibre across study groups. Our ancestral diet consistently included a diverse range of plants that regularly contributed up to and often >100 g/day of dietary fibre. Importantly, this diversity assured that, owing to a range of physical and chemical structures, a steady flow of fermentable substrates promoted metabolic activity into the distal regions of the colon.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Bingham SA, Day NE, Luben R, Ferrari P, Slimani N, Norat T et al. (2003). Dietary fibre in food and protection against colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): an observational study. Lancet 361, 1496–1501.
Brand-Miller JC, Holt SHA (1998). Australian Aboriginal plant foods: a consideration of their nutritional compositional and health implications. Nutr Res Rev 11, 5–23.
Eaton SB, Strassman BI, Nesse RM, Neel JV, Ewald PW, Williams GC et al. (2002). Evolutionary health promotion. Prev Med 34, 109–118.
Fuchs CS, Giovannucci EL, Colditz GA, Hunter DJ, Stampfer MJ, Rosner B et al. (1999). Dietary fiber and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma in women. N Engl J Med 340, 169–176.
Park Y, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, Bergkvist L, Berrino F, van den Brandt PA et al. (2005). Dietary fiber intake and risk of colorectal cancer: a pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies. J Am Med Assoc 14, 2849–2857.
Redgwell RJ, Fischer M (2005). Dietary fiber as a versatile food component: an industrial perspective. Mol Nutr Food Res 49, 421–535.
Sobolik KD (1994). Paleonutrition of the Lower Pecos region of the Chihuahuan Desert. In: KD Sobolik (ed). Paleonutrition: The Diet and Health of Prehistoric Americans, Center for Archaeological Investigations: occasional paper no. 22. pp 247–264. Center for Archaeological Investigations, University of Illinois, Urbana.
Van Loo J (2004). The specificity of the interaction with intestinal bacterial fermentation by prebiotics determines their physiological efficacy. Nutr Res Rev 17, 89–98.
Weiss E, Wetterstrom W, Nadel D, Bar-Yosef O (2004). The broad spectrum revisited: evidence from the plant remains. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101, 9551–9555.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leach, J. Evolutionary perspective on dietary intake of fibre and colorectal cancer. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 140–142 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602486
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602486
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Die Ernährung des Menschen im evolutionsmedizinischen Kontext
Wiener klinische Wochenschrift (2009)