Care2 Healthy Living/Becky Striepe: Does Refined Fiber Cause Cancer?

Care2 Healthy Living | Does Refined Fiber Cause Cancer?
Does Refined Fiber Cause Cancer?
tweet
email

    By: Becky Striepe
    October 27, 2018

    About Becky
    Follow Becky at @glueandglitter

Most Americans could stand to eat more fiber, but a new study suggests that where you get your fiber can have a huge impact on your health. If you’re relying on refined fiber to meet your needs, you could be putting yourself at a higher risk for liver cancer.
What is refined inulin?

The refined fiber researchers were feeding to mice in this study is refined inulin, a relatively new food additive that the FDA approved over the summer, along with a handful of other added fibers. There isn’t much research yet on how refined inulin impacts human health, but the new FDA guidance means that companies are adding it to processed foods to boost the fiber content.

“The inulin used in this study is coming from chicory root, not a food we would normally eat,” Vishal Singh, a postdoctoral fellow from The University of Toledo and one of the lead researchers in the study, said in a press release. “In addition, during the extraction and processing of the fiber, it goes through a chemical process. We don’t know how the body responds to these processed fibers.”

Companies add refined fiber—like refined inulin—to naturally low-fiber processed foods, because consumers are catching on that fiber-rich foods improve our health. Previous research shows that a diet that includes plenty of fiber supports healthy bones and digestion while reducing your risk of chronic disease and cancer. That’s why this study’s results were such a surprise.

Does Refined Fiber Cause Cancer?
Refined Fiber and Liver Cancer: An Accidental Discovery

No one was more surprised about the link between refined fiber and cancer than the Georgia State University and University of Toledo researchers conducting this study, though, because that’s not what they set out to study. They were trying to see if a diet rich in refined inulin (a type of refined fiber) helped prevent obesity, which it did for about 40 percent of the mice.

You can imagine their shock when the mice in their study started developing liver cancer. ”The findings shook us,” Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar, director of the UT Microbiome Consortium and associate professor in the UT Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, said in a press release.

If you needed proof that weight isn’t always an indicator of good health, there you have it.

At this point, the researchers pivoted. Instead of continuing to look at obesity, they tried to figure out what it was about refined fiber that was causing liver cancer in their subjects. They suspect that the issue is the way our gut breaks down refined fiber.

The researchers looked at two sets of mice: one with elevated levels of gut bacteria (a condition called dysbiosis) and one with no gut bacteria at all. The mice with no gut flora didn’t develop liver cancer, suggesting that the way refined inulin ferments when our gut breaks it down is the culprit.

“We importantly demonstrated that soluble fiber, while it generally beneficially impacts health, can also become detrimental, leading to diseases as severe as liver cancer,” Dr. Benoit Chassaing, assistant professor in the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State said in a press release. “However, we do not want to promote that fiber is bad. Rather, our research highlights that fortifying processed foods with fiber may not be safe to certain individuals with gut bacterial dysbiosis, in whom consumption of purified fiber may lead to liver cancer.”

This is only preliminary research, and animal studies don’t always translate to human health outcomes. What is clear is that there needs to be more research on the link between refined fiber and cancer.

Images via Thinkstock
GREAT STORY, RIGHT?
Share it with your friends
tweet
email
Recommended for You

    What is the salary of Taimur's nanny? What is the salary of Taimur's nanny? Sponsored | India Today
    What Are The 10 Biggest Tech Companies In The World? What Are The 10 Biggest Tech Companies In The World? Sponsored | Trendingstock Today
    Hitachi sells car navigation unit Clarion for $700m Hitachi sells car navigation unit Clarion for $700m Sponsored | Nikkei Asian Review

    Sri Lankan ex-president Rajapaksa sworn in as prime minister Sri Lankan ex-president Rajapaksa sworn in as prime minister Sponsored | Nikkei Asian Review
    New Site Finds the Cheapest Flights in Seconds! New Site Finds the Cheapest Flights in Seconds! Sponsored | TripsShop.com
    The Meat Industry is Jeopardizing the Paris Agreement The Meat Industry is Jeopardizing the Paris Agreement

7 comments
Maria Papastamatiou
Maria Papastamatiouabout a minute ago

I suppose that when we try to intervene in the "work" of mother nature, we simply are too ignorant and do not know all parameters. Therefore, while trying to improve something, we simply make a mess out of it. Thanks for posting.
SEND
John D
John D4 minutes ago

Seems that processed anything turns out to be harmful in the long run. When will humanity start to connect the dots and move completely away from the middle isles of most supermarkets...
SEND
Victoria P
Victoria Pabout an hour ago

Thank you
SEND
Sherry K
Sherry Kohn1 hours ago

Noted
SEND
Danuta W
Danuta W4 hours ago

Thank you for sharing
SEND
Peggy B
Peggy B11 hours ago

TYFS
SEND
Sue H
Sue H12 hours ago

Helpful information, thanks.
SEND
TOP STORIES

    1
    15 Foods to Eat if You Have Heart Disease
    2
    Top 12 Foods to Eat if You Have Diabetes
    3
    When It Comes to Chocolate, is Bitter Better?
    4
    Are You Being Duped By the Egg Industry?
    5
    Should You Use Gundry Vital Reds?

ads keep care2 free
learn more ▸
CONNECT WITH US

    Facebook 1.1 million followers
    Twitter 560,000 followers
    Pinterest 30,000 followers
    Email Newsletter

EMAIL THE EDITORS
ads keep care2 free
learn more ▸
COMMUNITY SUCCESS!
Success! UK Fracking Protesters Freed From Jail After Court Revokes Excessive Sentences

They've come to be known as the "Frack Free Four." Last July, Simon Blevins, Richard Loizou,...
more
tweet
"The best way to predict the future is to create it!"
- Dennis Gabor
Start A Petition

    Home
    Start a Petition
    Sign Petitions
    Petition Successes

    Care2 Causes
    Healthy Living
    Petition Help

Trending Petition Topics

    Animal Rights
    Children's Rights
    Civil Rights
    Corporate Accountability
    Education

    Environment
    Health
    Human Rights
    International Development
    LGBTQ Rights

    Media, Arts, Culture
    Politics
    Reproductive Rights
    Wildlife
    Women's Rights

Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.
You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Follow

    HomeAbout UsPartnershipsMedia InquiryPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceContact UsHelp

Copyright © 2018 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors.All rights reserved

tweet
email

    By: Becky Striepe
    October 27, 2018

    About Becky
    Follow Becky at @glueandglitter

Most Americans could stand to eat more fiber, but a new study suggests that where you get your fiber can have a huge impact on your health. If you’re relying on refined fiber to meet your needs, you could be putting yourself at a higher risk for liver cancer.
What is refined inulin?

The refined fiber researchers were feeding to mice in this study is refined inulin, a relatively new food additive that the FDA approved over the summer, along with a handful of other added fibers. There isn’t much research yet on how refined inulin impacts human health, but the new FDA guidance means that companies are adding it to processed foods to boost the fiber content.

“The inulin used in this study is coming from chicory root, not a food we would normally eat,” Vishal Singh, a postdoctoral fellow from The University of Toledo and one of the lead researchers in the study, said in a press release. “In addition, during the extraction and processing of the fiber, it goes through a chemical process. We don’t know how the body responds to these processed fibers.”

Companies add refined fiber—like refined inulin—to naturally low-fiber processed foods, because consumers are catching on that fiber-rich foods improve our health. Previous research shows that a diet that includes plenty of fiber supports healthy bones and digestion while reducing your risk of chronic disease and cancer. That’s why this study’s results were such a surprise.

Does Refined Fiber Cause Cancer?
Refined Fiber and Liver Cancer: An Accidental Discovery

No one was more surprised about the link between refined fiber and cancer than the Georgia State University and University of Toledo researchers conducting this study, though, because that’s not what they set out to study. They were trying to see if a diet rich in refined inulin (a type of refined fiber) helped prevent obesity, which it did for about 40 percent of the mice.

You can imagine their shock when the mice in their study started developing liver cancer. ”The findings shook us,” Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar, director of the UT Microbiome Consortium and associate professor in the UT Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, said in a press release.

If you needed proof that weight isn’t always an indicator of good health, there you have it.

At this point, the researchers pivoted. Instead of continuing to look at obesity, they tried to figure out what it was about refined fiber that was causing liver cancer in their subjects. They suspect that the issue is the way our gut breaks down refined fiber.

The researchers looked at two sets of mice: one with elevated levels of gut bacteria (a condition called dysbiosis) and one with no gut bacteria at all. The mice with no gut flora didn’t develop liver cancer, suggesting that the way refined inulin ferments when our gut breaks it down is the culprit.

“We importantly demonstrated that soluble fiber, while it generally beneficially impacts health, can also become detrimental, leading to diseases as severe as liver cancer,” Dr. Benoit Chassaing, assistant professor in the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State said in a press release. “However, we do not want to promote that fiber is bad. Rather, our research highlights that fortifying processed foods with fiber may not be safe to certain individuals with gut bacterial dysbiosis, in whom consumption of purified fiber may lead to liver cancer.”

This is only preliminary research, and animal studies don’t always translate to human health outcomes. What is clear is that there needs to be more research on the link between refined fiber and cancer.

Images via Thinkstock
GREAT STORY, RIGHT?
Share it with your friends
tweet
email
Recommended for You

    What is the salary of Taimur's nanny? What is the salary of Taimur's nanny? Sponsored | India Today
    What Are The 10 Biggest Tech Companies In The World? What Are The 10 Biggest Tech Companies In The World? Sponsored | Trendingstock Today
    Hitachi sells car navigation unit Clarion for $700m Hitachi sells car navigation unit Clarion for $700m Sponsored | Nikkei Asian Review

    Sri Lankan ex-president Rajapaksa sworn in as prime minister Sri Lankan ex-president Rajapaksa sworn in as prime minister Sponsored | Nikkei Asian Review
    New Site Finds the Cheapest Flights in Seconds! New Site Finds the Cheapest Flights in Seconds! Sponsored | TripsShop.com
    The Meat Industry is Jeopardizing the Paris Agreement The Meat Industry is Jeopardizing the Paris Agreement

7 comments
Maria Papastamatiou
Maria Papastamatiouabout a minute ago

I suppose that when we try to intervene in the "work" of mother nature, we simply are too ignorant and do not know all parameters. Therefore, while trying to improve something, we simply make a mess out of it. Thanks for posting.
SEND
John D
John D4 minutes ago

Seems that processed anything turns out to be harmful in the long run. When will humanity start to connect the dots and move completely away from the middle isles of most supermarkets...
SEND
Victoria P
Victoria Pabout an hour ago

Thank you
SEND
Sherry K
Sherry Kohn1 hours ago

Noted
SEND
Danuta W
Danuta W4 hours ago

Thank you for sharing
SEND
Peggy B
Peggy B11 hours ago

TYFS
SEND
Sue H
Sue H12 hours ago

Helpful information, thanks.
SEND
TOP STORIES

    1
    15 Foods to Eat if You Have Heart Disease
    2
    Top 12 Foods to Eat if You Have Diabetes
    3
    When It Comes to Chocolate, is Bitter Better?
    4
    Are You Being Duped By the Egg Industry?
    5
    Should You Use Gundry Vital Reds?

ads keep care2 free
learn more ▸
CONNECT WITH US

    Facebook 1.1 million followers
    Twitter 560,000 followers
    Pinterest 30,000 followers
    Email Newsletter

EMAIL THE EDITORS
ads keep care2 free
learn more ▸
COMMUNITY SUCCESS!
Success! UK Fracking Protesters Freed From Jail After Court Revokes Excessive Sentences

They've come to be known as the "Frack Free Four." Last July, Simon Blevins, Richard Loizou,...
more
tweet
"The best way to predict the future is to create it!"
- Dennis Gabor
Start A Petition

    Home
    Start a Petition
    Sign Petitions
    Petition Successes

    Care2 Causes
    Healthy Living
    Petition Help

Trending Petition Topics

    Animal Rights
    Children's Rights
    Civil Rights
    Corporate Accountability
    Education

    Environment
    Health
    Human Rights
    International Development
    LGBTQ Rights

    Media, Arts, Culture
    Politics
    Reproductive Rights
    Wildlife
    Women's Rights

Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.
You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Follow

    HomeAbout UsPartnershipsMedia InquiryPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceContact UsHelp

Copyright © 2018 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors.All rights reserved