A warning has been issued by scientists as a popular diet could be linked to one of the UK’s deadliest cancers. A recent study has unveiled that eliminating carbohydrates and fibre from your diet could increase your risk of bowel cancer.
The connection is believed to stem from the effect this diet has on gut bacteria. Specifically, the research indicated that a group of bacteria known as Escherichia coli (E. coli) is adversely impacted by low-carb and low-fibre diets.
The researchers observed an increase in the formation of polyps – abnormal tissue growths. Some of these polyps have the potential to evolve into bowel cancer.
These findings, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, coincide with a concerning surge in bowel cancer cases among young people. Last year, it was disclosed that bowel cancer rates are escalating fastest among those aged under 50 in 27 out of 50 countries, including England.
England saw the fourth quickest rise in early-onset bowel cancer rates in the decade leading up to 2017, faster than any other European country and only surpassed by New Zealand, Chile, and Puerto Rico. Furthermore, bowel cancer is already the fourth most prevalent type of cancer in the UK, contributing to 44,100 new cases annually.
Several factors are thought to influence your risk of developing bowel cancer, with diet being one of them. Processed foods and meat have previously been associated with the disease.
The team from the University of Toronto in Canada embarked on this study to determine if there was a link between specific diets and certain types of bacteria. They used mice as subjects, feeding them either low-carb and low-fibre diets, standard chow diets, or Western-style diets high in fat and sugar.
The mice were examined for polyps at the beginning and again 16 weeks later. As Medical News Today reported, only the combination of the low-carb diet and E. coli showed potential to increase the risk of colorectal cancer.
The authors of the study highlighted this as significant since E. coli is found in 60 per cent of colorectal cancer cases. Mice consuming this diet who also had E. coli bacteria exhibited a higher number of polyps and tumours.
Furthermore, these mice also showed DNA damage and other indicators that increase the risk of developing bowel cancer. It was discovered that the low-carb diet thinned the protective mucus layer in the colon against microbes.
However, the researchers found that introducing fibre into these mice’s diets reduced tumour formation and helped manage inflammation. Their next goal is to investigate which types of fibre are more protective and whether this holds true in humans.
Low-carbohydrate diets have been a mainstay in diet culture for some time, with the Atkins diet becoming widely popular in the early 2000s. More recently, the carnivore diet – which solely consists of animal products and is thus extremely low in fibre and carbs – has drawn criticism from certain health experts.
Cancer Research UK suggests that you can reduce your risk of bowel cancer by:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Reducing your intake of red and processed meat
- Increasing your fibre consumption
- Avoiding smoking
- Exercising regularly
- Being aware of your family history of the disease
- Limiting your alcohol consumption.