source: Natural Medicine Journal

year: 2012

authors: Tina Kaczor

A vast amount of information exists regarding the role of diets and dietary components in relation to development of colorectal cancers. Unfortunately, there is little consensus and much of the data is contradictory. Looking at trends in the data, diets high in trans and saturated fat, sugar, and refined starches and low in fruits and vegetables are associated with higher risk of colorectal cancer. However, there has been more inconsistency than one may expect in the data. Regarding fat, one Japanese study restricting fat energy to 18–22% of the diet found that colorectal cancer recurrence was significantly higher with this low-fat diet. Fiber, often assumed to lower the risk of developing colon cancer, has surprisingly conflicting data.