- With bowel cancer diagnoses rising among people under 50, researchers are urging the public to increase fibre intake and adopt healthier eating habits to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancers.
- Studies from Flinders University reveal that diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, while limiting sugar and alcohol, may significantly lower cancer risk and improve outcomes.
- However, researchers point out that further clinical trials are needed to better understand how dietary patterns influence cancer development and to expand education on nutrition as a preventive measure.
Research from Flinders University and Medical Research Institute in Australia, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, builds upon existing evidence uncovered by the same team, which shows that a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, legumes and dairy may help protect against gastrointestinal cancers.
Researchers have found strong connections between poor diet and a higher risk of digestive cancers.
They suggest that eating more healthy fats and vegetables, while cutting down on sugar and alcohol, can greatly lower the risk of colorectal and other types of cancer.
Conversely, unHealthy eating patterns — characterised by high consumption of red and processed meats, fast foods, refined grains, alcohol and sugary drinks — are strongly associated with a higher risk of gastrointestinal cancers.
First author Zegeye Abebe Abitew, a research assistant in the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University, told Medical News Today that “a diet rich in healthy fats, oils, dark green vegetables, and other vegetables, combined with low intake of sugar, beer, and liquor, was linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer.”
“Vegetables are packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which help reduce inflammation and support overall health,” he explained.
“On the other hand, a diet high in carbohydrates and fiber, including citrus fruits, other fruits, non-wholegrains, wholegrains, sugar, and dark green vegetables, showed no clear connection to [colorectal cancer] risk,” said Abitew.
“While fiber is known to protect against [colorectal cancer], the high intake of non-wholegrains and sugar in this pattern may balance out its protective effects,” he detailed.
Senior author Yohannes Melaku, MSc, MPH, PhD, explained that “these findings reinforce the importance of a balanced diet rich in fibre and healthy fats as a potential preventative measure against [colorectal cancer].”
“Public health initiatives could focus on increasing access to and awareness of such foods to help reduce cancer risks. While the study does not suggest dietary patterns influence survival outcomes once [colorectal cancer] occurs, promoting healthy eating could contribute broadly to cancer prevention strategies.”
– Yohannes Melaku, MSc, MPH, PhD
The researchers highlight the role of high-fibre foods, such as fruits and vegetables, in supporting healthy gut bacteria.
These bacteria can help reduce inflammation, making fibre and healthy fats essential components of a balanced diet.
The researchers note that while there is more evidence showing that diet changes can help prevent or delay some diseases, more research is needed to fully understand how diet affects cancer.
However, they note that diet is just one part of what affects our overall health.
Gastrointestinal cancers, which include cancers of the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, intestines, colon, and rectum, make up more than one in four cancer cases and cause more than one in three cancer deaths worldwide.
With more awareness of colorectal cancer, researchers are stressing how important good nutrition is for preventing disease.
They recommend healthy eating habits as a way to protect long-term health, especially since digestive cancers, like bowel cancer, are becoming more common in people under 50.
<strong>The findings align with the dietary guidelines from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), which recommend diets high in whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes, while limiting red and processed meats, sugary drinks and processed foods.strong>
The researchers say their findings support current dietary guidelines and show the protective benefits of choices like eating more fiber to help prevent digestive cancers.
They emphasize that following a healthy diet is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve overall health and lower the risk of diseases, including cancer.
Lena Bakovic, MS, RDN, CNSC, a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in gut health, chronic disease, weight management, intuitive eating, oncology, and general health and wellness at Top Nutrition Coaching, not involved in this research, agreed that this is an effective way to keep cancer at bay..
“Colorectal cancer is an illness which we know is particularly vulnerable to dietary behaviors,” Bakovic told MNT.
“These results are well-aligned with the scientific/medical community and current recommendations for mostly plant-based diets aiming to benefit risk reduction for colorectal cancer incidence. Specific examples of this alignment include current recommendations for the inclusion of more unsaturated fatty acids found in plant-based foods and oils, and lower intakes of saturated fatty acids contained within animal products such as red and processed meats. Likewise, dietary fiber is also found in plants, and primarily derived from fruits and vegetables.”
– Lena Bakovic, MS, RDN, CNSC
The studies highlight the importance of teaching people about good nutrition and promoting healthy eating habits to lower the risk of digestive cancers and help patients do better.
“This has been well-established in previous clinical trials predominantly correlating a high dietary intake of processed meat, red meat, and alcohol combined with low intakes of fruits and vegetables, and the resultant association with a higher prevalence of colorectal cancers,” Bakovic noted.
“These recommendations include following mostly plant-based diets, which are rich in a variety of fruits and vegetables, include sufficient amounts of dietary fiber (20-30 grams per day), moderate amounts of lean protein sources, incorporation of plant-based proteins, and higher intakes of healthy plant-based fats sourced from foods such as olive oil and avocados,” she advised.
Bakovic added that these findings “will be tremendously helpful in lessening confusion for the public pertaining to nutrition recommendations.”
This is because there is “already such an abundance of information profusely present on the internet which further complicates the discernment between evidence-based and opinion-based nutrition sources.”
