About one in 23 men and one in 25 women in the US will develop colon cancer during their lifetimes.  Although using colonoscopies to find and remove cancerous polyps has reduced the overall death rate from colon cancer, among people younger than age 55, deaths from colon cancer have increased 2 percent per year from 2007 and 2016. Could there be a relationship between colon cancer and the observation that almost all Americans are deficient in fiber?  We think so. So did a group of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, who joined forces with the University of KwaZulu in rural Africa to compare the diets of African Americans and rural Africans.  African Americans have especially high rates of colon cancer, 13 times higher than rural Africans; and the researchers hypothesized that the rural Africans’ high-fiber, low-fat diets had something to do with this. To test their ideas, the researchers compared the diets and also the microbiota (gut bugs) of a…

You probably associate getting enough fiber—the non-digestible “roughage” we get from plant foods—with good elimination. You may also know that fiber helps maintain a healthy weight by filling you up so you eat fewer calories, or even that fiber helps to maintain good cholesterol levels. But how can eating fiber strengthen your immunity?The answer is that fiber nourishes the trillions of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that live in our intestines, where they are a crucial part of our immune systems. Anywhere from 60-80% of immune system activity takes place in the intestines, where probiotics attack pathogens with powerful antimicrobial substances. These substances are often as powerful as the strongest antibiotic medications, but they don’t kill off good gut bacteria as is done by antibiotic drugs.According to Rachel Begun, MS, RDN, quoted in a recent issue of Environmental Nutrition, various aspects of modern life have altered gut microflora, damaging immunity and leading to signifi…