ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES

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DON'T ABANDON HIGH-FIBER DIETS

AUBURN, FEB. 5---The results of a recent study showing high-fiber diets have no effect on reducing colon cancer should not be an excuse to abandon these diets, says Bob Keith, a nutritionist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

The study, which involved 88,000 female nurses during a 16-year period, found women who ate high-fiber diets were no less likely to develop colorectal cancer or polyps, a common precursor to cancer, than women who ate little fiber.

The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, were the same no matter what kind of fiber the subjects consumed, whether they smoked or didn't smoke, whether or not they consumed large quantities of red meat, or whether they exercised a lot or remained couch potatoes.

Despite the findings, Keith says he's not changing his recommendations for eating high fiber.

"Does the study mean we should stop eating fiber? Absolutely not!" says Keith. "We've learned these diets accomplish many other things."

Numerous studies conducted within the last decade indicate high-fiber diets, by lowering serum cholesterol levels, provide asafeguard against heart disease, the No. 1 killer of American adults.

"We know oatmeal, a source of soluble fiber, appears to have a major effect on reducing cholesterol levels," Keith says, "This link is so well-established that oatmeal manufacturers are allowed to carry healthy heart symbols as part of their product labeling."

But that's only one of the health benefits associated with such diets, Keith says. Numerous studies also have shown diabetics on high-fiber diets are better able to control blood glucose levels. And then there's the issue of constipation, for which high fiber seems to have been tailor-made.

While some experts may view these findings as constituting the last word on the link between high-fiber diets and colon cancer, Keith isn't so sure.

The study included all forms of fiber, soluble and insoluble alike. Keith believes a study focusing exclusively on insoluble wheat-bran fiber may have turned up different results.

"By the time soluble fiber gets into the large intestines, it's broken down and used as an energy source by bacteria," Keith says. "Insoluble fiber is different: unlike soluble fiber, it isn't broken down but is passed through the intestinal tract."

The theory behind using insoluble bran is that by forcingindividuals to eliminate often, it prevents cancer-causing substances from remaining too long in the intestinal tract.

Future studies using only insoluble fiber may support this, Keith says.

Questions about the link between high-fiber diets and a reduced risk of colon cancer have persisted since the 1960s, when British missionary surgeon Dennis Burkitt speculated the unusually low incidence of colon cancer among Africans stemmed from consuming high-fiber diets.

Over time, word of this finding spread to the West, prompting millions of consumers to switch to high-bran diets.