Chapter 10. Colon Cancer

“Adopting a diet that is low in fat and high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables does not influence the risk of recurrence of colorectal adenomas.”
The New England Journal of Medicine [1]

Dietary Fiber: Naturally Grown Killer

Okay, so fiber isn’t good for constipation and it causes all kinds of nasty, but not yet deadly problems. But what about colon cancer? Aren’t we getting rid of one plague (fiber), to gain another (cancer)?

That’s an excellent and appropriate question. And I’m the last person to encourage you to play Russian roulette. So let’s check out the odds.

Colorectal cancer and dietary fiber

The question whether dietary fiber contributes to colorectal cancer has (at least for me) been answered time and again—yes, it absolutely does. But this isn’t what you’ve probably heard before, or are likely to accept on faith alone. So let’s review this issue in greater depth. Undoubtedly, it will come up again and again in your discussions with doctors, relatives, and peers, and you’ll need all the armor you can find to deflect the onslaught of ignorance, misinformation, and outright falsehoods.

The term colorectal cancer refers to cancers of the colon and the rectum. In general, surgery to remove colon cancer causes less damage than surgery for rectal cancer, because the latter almost always involves removing an entire important organ (the rectum), while with colon cancer, if there’s no metastasis, only a section of the colon is removed so that the normal defecation remains functional.

There are also three somewhat confusing terms used in relation to colorectal cancers: colorectal carcinoma, adenoma, and adenocarcinoma. Technically, carcinoma refers to malignant tumors, while adenoma to benign. That said, colorectal adenomas and carcinomas present physicians with similar risk profiles, hence you’ll frequently hear the term colorectal adenocarcinoma. In either case, surgery is required to remove the intestinal obstruction caused by the tumor, and to halt further spread of the cancer.

The actual nature of the tumor is established by a pathologist from the biopsy sample taken before the surgery, or from a post-surgical tissue sample. In general, when communicating with patients most doctors refer to carcinomas and adenomas interchangeably (colorectal cancer or adenocarcinoma,) because they themselves may not know the distinction until the pathology report.

In medical literature you may encounter yet another, even broader term that specialists use among themselves: a neoplasm. It simply means an abnormal growth of tissue mass, which is dif­ferent from regular tissue, and may be either benign or malig­nant. Anything abnormal—adenoma, carcinoma, sarcoma (connec­tive tissue malignancy) is therefore a neoplasm. The rest of this chapter uses the term colorectal cancer, which for clarity’s sake encompasses all other meanings and definitions.

It’s a well-established fact that most colorectal cancers are preceded by the formation of precancerous polyps—cellular growths that visibly protrude from the mucous lining of the large intestine. Therefore, anything that can cause temporary or permanent damage to the mucous lining is capable of causing the growth of po­lyps, that eventually may become tumors.

The terms polyp is actually an euphemism for tumor and neoplasm. Don’t kid yourself over the issue of early detection—you should be more concerned about preventing the polyps from developing in the first place, rather than hoping that regular colonoscopies will make you safe. Unless you remove the causes of these polyps, colonoscopies aren’t going to save, quite literally, your butt. Thinking otherwise is very profitable for medical sector, but in practical terms, this “prevention” approach is as asinine as putting out fires with gasoline.

So what should you do to prevent polyps?

Protect yourself from harm. The mucosa damage that precedes the appearance of polyps can be (a) mechanical (a cut or abrasion), (b) chemical (caused by an irritant, such as laxatives, fatty acids, bile, etc), (c) viral or bacterial, or (d) a combination of all these factors. Just as with any other organ, the mucosa react with inflammation to superficial injury, or with ulceration and bleeding if the exposure is long-lasting and unrelenting. Can this be from an exposure to fiber? Well, let’s think aloud:

• If a substance increases the stool’s size and volume five-to-six times and causes permanent stretching, diverticulosis, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, and anal fissures, then this substance also has the potential to cause mechanical damage to the incomparably more delicate mucosa inside the large intestine, and stimulate the growth of precancerous polyps.
• If a substance causes bacterial fermentation inside the large intestine, leading to the production of highly irritating fatty acids, which may cause diarrhea and ulcerative colitis, or even itching in the anus, then this substance can also cause chemical damage of the mucosa, leading to the formation of polyps.

So what is this substance that can cause both mechanical and chemical damage of the intestinal mucosa? There is only one such substance in the daily diet of most Westerners—dietary fiber that reaches the gut undigested.

• Can it be meat? No, it can’t, because meat, any kind of meat, digests completely inside the functioning stomach, and never reaches the large intestine.
• Can it be saturated fat? No, it can’t, because saturated fats get digested and absorbed almost completely inside the functional small intestine, and never reach the large intestine.
• Can it be digestible carbohydrates? No, not directly, because digestible carbohydrates too, never reach the large intestine—they digest completely inside the healthy small intestine, and get absorbed there as well. Indirectly—well, it’s a different story.

It’s apparent that nothing but indigestible dietary fiber, whatever the source, can cause mechanical damage either directly or indirectly, by means of the by-products of bacterial fermentation.

But there’s a bit more to it. The majority of indigestible fiber comes in the nice wrapping of digestible carbohydrates—those proverbial fruits, vegetables, breads, pasta, and cereals, whose ten to fifteen servings you’re supposed to consume daily to stay healthy:

Add to the mix age, stress, medication, dietary and environmental carcinogens, dysbacteriosis, and chronic deficiency of essential nutrients—all aggravating factors that impede digestion and harm the immune system—and we inevitably get what we so dread:

From all corners we’ve been urged to consume a high-fiber diet to lower the risk of colon cancer. Would this lower it? Not a bit! Here’s an excerpt from an article about fiber from The Harvard School of Public Health, published in 2004:

Is this something new, or is this book the lone voice of reason? No, it isn’t new at all. The wide-open public discourse on the role of fiber started years ago. Here are some excerpts from mainstream sources. Please note the dates and headlines:

As you can see, these quotes were collected from news wires years ago. Could our esteemed scientists have missed these sto­ries? Sure they could have. So let’s review the articles in the must-read publications such as Cancer, The Lancet, or The New England Journal of Medicine, that they couldn’t miss.

Because the connection between dietary fiber and colorectal cancer is so controversial, I’ll cite the following abstracts in close to their original format, except that I shortened the list of co-authors, removed the hard-to-understand discussions of statistical results, and underlined the most pertinent revelations. Here we go:

(Author’s note: Ispaghula huskcomes from the crushed seeds of the Plantago ovata plant, a native herb from parts of Asia, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. From the same plant family come Plantago psyllium seeds [5], the source of psyllium husks used in popular bulking fiber laxatives, such as Metamucil, and added to some breakfast cereals to increase their fiber content and decrease blood cholesterol. In the context of the above-cited research, think twice before using these constipation and cholesterol “remedies”—you may be making a deal with the devil.)

As you can plainly see from these top-notch studies by mainstream researchers and institutions, fiber not only doesn’t offer any protection from colorectal cancer, but potentially elevates the risks. And I’m not even touching on the subject of other cancers: deadly mouth cancer, even deadlier esophageal cancer, “curable” stomach cancer (curable because the victims can live for a while without the stomach), the deadliest of all, pancreatic cancer, cancers of the small intestines, you name it—all of the digestive organs that are one way or another overloaded by the over­con­sumption of dietary carbohydrates and fiber.

And don’t get me started on non-digestive cancers. For example, it’s a well-established fact that the overweight and diabetic have the highest rates of cancer, and that one can become fat or diabetic only one way: by consuming more carbohydrates than one’s body needs or can safely process.

The connection is so obvious here that you don’t, mon ami, need the dissecting mind of Hercule Poirot to figure this out in less than a minute. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention,theMinistry of Health of Mexico,and theAmerican Institute for Cancer Research spent a huge amount of money to “prove” the cancer-carbohydrate connection:

Please note that most of the research I cited regarding colon cancer is four to five years old. But none of that changed the minds and opinions of the leading authorities charged with protecting our health. They continue to insist on their enshrined, universal remedy:

Take More Fiber
Avoid Meat And Animal Fat
Eat More Fruits And Vegetables

Here’s their most recent and egregious advice as to how to fend off colorectal cancer:

As you can see, their attitude is the opposite of what has already been said, studied, and known about the fiber-cancer connection. I am at a loss to explain why. But you still worry about meat and fat, correct? The Dietary Guidelines for Americans specifically implies that there’s a fat-cancer connection:

To make sure that this isn’t so, I checked out the comparative health (sorry, death) statistics vis-à-vis meat consumption, courtesy of the World Health Organization. Since meat is one of the primary sources of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet, the countries with the largest meat consumption should have the largest rates of digestive cancers, right? Wrong! In fact, population statistics indicate the complete opposite:

Meat consumption and the occurrence of digestive cancers [8]

As you can see, the United States—the country with the highest annual consumption of meat (119 kg) had the lowest rate of digestive cancers in general (4.6), and the second lowest of colorectal cancers (1.4). On the other hand, Armenia—a relatively poor country with the lowest annual consumption of meat (16 kg)—had the highest rate of colorectal cancers. Why?

There’s no contest here: if the poor people of Armenia can’t consume as much meat as the Americans can, they have to replace it with something plentiful and cheap. Invariably, dietary carbohydrates, which also carry along loads of fiber, are the only food that reliably fit into the category of “cheap and plentiful.”

And notice the dramatic rate of stomach cancer in Armenia and Columbia—respectively three and six times higher than in the United States. The stomach (the organ designed exclusively for the digestion of meats) is even more adversely affected by carbohydrates and fiber than the better-adapted large intestine.

The colossal rate of stomach cancers in Colombia is likely related to two factors: the high rate of smoking and the even higher rate of ceaseless coffee drinking among Colombians. Both factors—the swallowing of nicotine-laced saliva while smoking and the bitterness of coffee, especially on an empty stomach—stimulate the secretion of potent digestive juices. In the absence of food, this causes high rates of gastritis and stomach ulcers, and chronic inflammation and ulceration of the stomach’s mucosa, exact­ly the same two conditions that precede the development of cancers of the large intestine.

So, if you live in the United States, eat plenty of meat, don’t smoke, don’t chew gum (again, the saliva factor), and don’t abuse coffee, consider yourself lucky. In places where they don’t get to eat plenty of meat and fat, and do other stupid things, the risk of digestive cancer is much, much higher.

But again, in terms of cancer, it’s the fiber and carbohydrates that are the most damaging. The majority of French men smoke too, and most of them drink plenty of coffee, yet the rate of digestive cancers in fat- and meat-loving France is only slightly higher than in the United States, notwithstanding the Gallic devotion to baguettes and croissants liberally smothered with real butter (82% fat) and triple brie (60% fat).

As France’s health statistics prove, the protective properties of meat, saturated fat, and cholesterol are more than skin deep. The French manage to weigh less and live longer than Americans, while spending half as much for health care, and probably twice as much for food. Please note that I am not endorsing all aspects of the French lifestyle, just providing a context for comparative statistics. If the French didn’t smoke as much and drank less, perhaps they would live even longer.

Finally, a few words on prevention. When it comes to cancers, we are all in God’s hands. That said, digestive cancers are among the easiest to avoid just by letting your digestive organs function the way Mother Nature intended: the mouth, to chew non-fibrous food; the stomach, to digest meats; the small intestine, to absorb nutrients and transport liquid chyme; and the large intestine, to slowly propel the remaining residue along without getting stuffed with pounds and pounds of undigested crap—pardon me, with undigested fiber.

It’s simple: do no harm. You don’t have to be Hippocrates to understand this. Ignore the hypocrites who continue to insist that to prevent colorectal cancer you should consume more fiber, avoid meat and fat, and eat more fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. You may as well move to Colombia and enjoy your freshly brewed coffee before, after, and between meals, puff on a fine cigar, and chew sugar-free gum the rest of the time to freshen up your mouth.

Please share this information about the fiber-cancer connection with the avowed vegetarians in your family, social, and business circles—it’s never too late to help them reverse their well-intentioned but self-destructive lifestyle.

Summary

• Colorectal cancers are preceded by polyps. The pathogenesis of polyps is related to the mechanical, chemical, and microbiological damage of the intestinal epithelium (mucosal membrane). Preventing the development of polyps is key to the prevention of colorectal cancer.
• The large stools characteristic of constipation cause mechanical damage to the epithelium. Dietary fiber is the primary factor behind large stools.
• Dysbacteriosis is a primary factor behind fiber dependence. The elimination and prevention of dysbacteriosis removes the need for fiber and minimizes the chances of mechanical damage of the epithelium.
• Astringent fatty acids are the by-product of dietary fiber’s fermentation inside the large intestine. This acidity is a primary factor behind chemical damage of the intestinal mucosa. Other factors are medication and laxatives. Refraining from the use of laxatives, and eradicating excessive fermentation eliminates the possibility of chemical damage.
• Normal intestinal bacteria populate the intestinal epithelium and protect it from viruses and pathogenic bacteria. Dysbacteriosis removes these protective properties, and may contribute to microbiological damage of the intestinal mucosa. Preventing and eliminating dysbacteriosis is essential for the prevention of microbiological damage.
• Correctly prepared meat can’t be a significant factor in pathogenesis of colorectal cancer because it fully digests in the sto­mach and small intestines and never reaches the large intestine.
• Essential amino acids, found mostly in primary protein (meats), are essential for the formation of mucin, a primary component of mucus, which is secreted by the intestinal epithelium.
• Processed meats found in cold cuts, charred meat prepared on the grill, fried meat, and meat cooked on non-stick surfaces can be a source of carcinogenic compounds.
• Broiling, boiling, grilling with natural gas, and pan-frying are the safest cooking methods for the prevention of colorectal cancers.
• Saturated fats, such as butter, animal fats, or palm oil, used in their natural states or in high-temperature cooking, can’t be a significant factor in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancers, because they are stable fats that fully digest in the small intestine, and they don’t reach the large intestine.
• All cellular membranes are built from saturated fat molecules. The chronic absence of such fats is likely to compromise cellular integrity and metabolism, and can contribute to the development of cancers.
• Liquid vegetable fats, including olive and canola oil, especially when used in high-temperature cooking, form carcinogenic trans fatty acids.
• When the molecules of monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats are substituted for saturated fats in cellular membranes, they do not offer the same protective properties, and they may contribute to the development of cancers.
• A low-carb diet is best for the prevention of cancer. An authoritative study concluded that “people consuming the highest amounts of digestible carbohydrates had a higher risk for deve­loping colorectal cancer...”[9] Another study concluded that a high-carbohydrate diet “was positively associated with breast cancer risk.” [10] It’s a commonly accepted theory that people predisposed to one type of cancer are more likely to develop other cancers.
• Numerous authoritative, long-term studies conclusively prove that dietary fiber doesn’t offer any protective properties against colon cancer, or increase the risk of polyp formation.
• In most Western studies, women have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancers than men. It is an established fact that more women than men suffer from constipation, and that women are more likely to consume more carbohydrates and fiber than men (following a “healthy diet”), and less meat and saturated fat.
• Regrettably, public health organizations continue to advocate the increased consumption of fiber for prevention of colorectal cancer. It is likely that the motivation for this can be traced to the commercial interests of companies that profit from the sale of products high in fiber.
• An analysis of mortality data from the countries with the highest and lowest meat consumption indicate that the countries with the lowest levels of meat consumption have the highest rate of gastrointestinal cancers.
• The rate of colorectal cancers in underdeveloped countries would be higher if life expectancy there wasn’t 20 to 30 years less than in Western countries. It simply means that people in these countries are dying before reaching the median age of colorectal-cancer mortality.

Footnotes