Dear meat-eating devotees. You love those char-grilled steaks from the barbecue. And they’re pretty good when fried on the stove. They taste so good and there’s no way you’ll give them up.
Now and then, there’s that little niggle in your mind: Isn’t charred meat and fish and chicken a cause of bowel cancer?
Indeed it is. And while nothing short of cooking meats at a lower temperature – and cutting way back on how much meat you’re eating – won’t eliminate that risk, you van at least give yourself a fighting chance.
Why bowel cancer is getting scarier
In 2019, we published a report about three studies that confirmed the anecdotal evidence: bowel cancer in young adults is on the rise – notably in rich countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
This has since been found to be part of a worrying trend that finds early-onset cancers of all stripes are on the rise.
Researchers are still not sure why this is the case – but poor diet and alcohol are suspected to be drivers.
One of the keys to Australia’s poor diet – and yes, it is an entrenched national problem – is the uptake of highly processed foods.
Throw in the fact that we eat too much meat and not enough beans and vegetables, we’re at greater risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and a variety of cancers.
You’ve heard this song before
A national dietary overhaul – where we all swap our sugary cereals for oats, our bacon for salmon, our biscuits and chips for fruit – is not going to happen anytime soon. Let’s say, ever.
But – keeping in mind that the risk of colorectal cancer increases with age – how about supplementing your meals with more dietary fibre.
Don’t like fruit? Not keen on leafy greens? Wholegrain and wholemeal leaves a hole in your heart?
Then go for seeds and nuts. They have crunch, can be hidden in other foods, are nutritionally dense, are good for your heart and controlling blood sugar, and nobody needs to know you’re on a health kick.
Also keep in mind, meat-eaters, that dietary fibre, particularly insoluble fibre, helps prevent constipation by bulking out the stool, and speeding up its passage.
This effect is enhanced when combining fibre with drinking more water.
Putting it bluntly: nothing leads to more grunting and straining in the toilet than a meaty diet.
Why fibre?
According to the Cancer Council, dietary fibre works in four ways to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer:
- It binds carcinogens to the stool and expels them from the body.
- Good bacteria in the colon convert fibre into short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids reduce the ability of cells in the intestine to become cancerous.
- By helping us to feel fuller for longer, fibre plays a key role in maintaining a healthy weight. (Being overweight makes you prone to cancer.)
- Reducing absorption of carbohydrates into the blood reduces insulin resistance, therefore reducing risk of diabetes and some cancers.
More info required?
Dietary fibre feeds your gut microbiota. It avoids digestion and absorption in the stomach and small intestine, and then, upon reaching the large intestine, begins to ferment and feed the colonic microbiota (healthy bacteria).
This is the key, because gut microbiota is able to metabolise some toxic food compounds. Like what? For instance, heterocyclic amines, the carcinogens that are caused by charring meats.
These toxic compounds are either directly bound and expelled or transformed into less noxious elements. This reduces the cancer risk for the your intestinal epithelium, the cells lining the bowel that can become cancerous.
How much fibre do you need?
The federal health department advises that Australian women are recommended to eat 25 grams of dietary fibre per day and men 30 grams per day.
In the US, men are advised to consume 38 grams a day. It’s not bad advice.
Most Australians eat less than the recommended amount of fibre.
There’s a good reason to try: The Cancer Council advises that you can cut your bowel cancer risk by about 20 per cent if you eat the recommended amount of fibre.
To get enough fibre every day, Cancer Council Australia recommends that you should eat:
- At least four serves of wholegrain or wholemeal foods every day (or ensure about half of your daily serves of breads and cereals are wholegrain or wholemeal varieties)
- At least two serves of fruit daily
- At least five serves of vegetables daily including legumes (also known as ‘pulses’).
- Whole-foods rather than dietary fibre supplements as the benefits of fibre from food may be from the combination of nutrients in food working together.
See more here.
According to National Health Survey 2017-2018, just over half (51.3 per cent) of Australian adults met the guidelines for the recommended daily serves of fruit (two or more serves), while one in thirteen (7.5 per cent) met the guidelines for serves of vegetables (5-6 or more serves for men depending on age, and five or more for women).
Only one in twenty (5.4 per cent) adults met both guidelines.
Bottom line
You’re better off getting your fibre from a variety of foods.
But if you want to get a good head start, go for up to 50 grams of soaked chia seeds, stirred through your cereal.
This will give you more than 17 grams of fibre, more than half the daily requirement for men.
But talk to your doctor for what might best suit you.
Really, it might give you a fighting chance against your bowel turning against you.
