The Importance of Fibre to Reduce Your Risk of Bladder Cancer
Including enough fibre each day has many health benefits for your body. These include better blood sugar control and lower levels of chronic inflammation. These two factors are known to be linked to certain cancers including bladder cancer. Bladder cancer is the tenth most common cause of cancer in the world.
A review of data of 13 cohort studies which included 574,726 participants concluded that those who ate more whole grains and dietary fiber had a lower risk of developing bladder cancer. The individuals who included more than 8g/day of whole grains and more than 23g of dietary fiber each day resulted in 28% reduced risk of developing bladder cancer compared to those with the lowest levels of whole grains and dietary fiber.
The combination of both whole grains and dietary fiber are suggested to be protective against bladder cancer due to the nutrients in whole grains such as antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals as well as the blood sugar and inflammatory reducing effects of the dietary fiber.
Dietary fiber can be found in plant products like beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and legumes. Whole grains can be sourced from brown rice, and whole grain pasta, couscous, bread, quinoa and Corn Thins slices.
Take home message: Dietary fiber is much more important than just keeping you regular and may help protect your body from diseases such as bladder cancer. Try including 30 different plant foods in your week and ticking enough whole grain serves each day. Corn Thins slices are a delicious way to add variety to the whole grains you include in your diet and there are many ways you can enjoy these delicious cakes.
Reference:
Makarem N, Nicholson JM, Bandera EV, McKeown NM, Parekh N. Consumption of whole grains and cereal fiber in relation to cancer risk: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Nutr Rev. 2016 Jun;74(6):353-73. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuw003. Epub 2016 May 5. PMID: 27257283; PMCID: PMC4892300.