Vegetables, fruit, whole gains, fiber, and rectal cancer:
A study researching rectal cancer asked 952 people with rectal cancer and 1205 people without rectal cancer aged 30 to 79 years about their diet. Researchers used this information to examine which dietary factors and foods may be related to having a diagnosis of rectal cancer. Researchers found that 1) people who ate more than 5.5 servings of vegetables per day had 28% lower risk of rectal cancer when compared to people eating less than approximately two servings per day; 2) people who ate more than 3.5 servings of fruit per day had 27% lower risk of rectal cancer when compared to people eating less than approximately one serving per day; 3) people eating more than 3 servings of whole grains per day had 31% lower risk of rectal cancer when compared to people eating less than one-half of a serving of whole grains per day; 4) people who ate more than 34 grams of fiber per day had 46% lower risk of rectal cancer when compared to people eating less than 16 grams of fiber per day; and 5) people who ate more than 4.5 servings of refined grains (such as white bread, doughnuts, bakery goods, cookies and cakes) per day had 42% higher risk of rectal cancer when compared to people eating less than 1.5 servings of refined grains per day. In summary, having more vegetables, fruit, whole grains and fiber in the diet reduced the risk of rectal cancer in this study. Having more refined grains in the diet increased risk of rectal cancer in this study. (12)