This fiber diet is eaten too much, increasing the risk of liver cancer

Text ｜ Wang Fang

Many people eat fiber -rich foods to help lose weight and prevent diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

However, an American scientist recently published a study in "Gastrointestinal Diseases" found that for some people, especially those with hidden vascular malformations, consumption of highly refined fiber may increase the risk of liver cancer.

"We spent a long time studying this view, that is, all diseases started in the intestinal tract." Matam vijay-kumar, a professor at the School of Medicine and Life Sciences at the University of Toloo University , And may help identify people with higher risk of liver cancer, so that they can reduce this risk through simple diet adjustment. "

Four years ago, the Vijay-Kumar team published a paper in "Cell", and found that after feeding the diet rich in chrysanthemum powder, the proportion of mice with immune system defects rose to liver cancer.

Chrysanthemum powder is a refined plant fermentation fiber. It is usually sold as a piral element that promotes health in the supermarket. It is also a common component of processing food.

Although chrysanthemum powder can promote the metabolic health of most editors, Vijay-Kumar and others have found that about 1/10 seemingly healthy standard experimental mice suffer from liver cancer after eating chrysanthemum-containing diet.

"In the past, it rarely observed liver cancer in mice, which is very surprising." Vijay-Kumar said, "This discovery pointed out the potential risks of some fine fibers, now we understand why this is the case."

This new study provides a clear explanation and may have the meaning of transcending experimental animals.

Researchers have found that the concentration of bile acid in all mice with malignant tumors is high. This is caused by congenital defects of the unbound door vein system that was not discovered before.

Although mice with high bile acid concentration in the blood are prone to liver injury, only mice that are fed with chrysanthemum powder develop liver cancer. When it is fed with chrysanthemum powder, 100%of mice with high bile acid concentration will suffer from cancer.

When mice with low bile acid concentration are fed the same diet, none of them suffer from cancer.

"The chrysanthemum powder in the diet can help suppress inflammation, but it may cause immunity, which is not good for the liver." Said the first author of the paper, post -doctoral BENG SAN Yeoh.

Outside the laboratory, the study can provide some insights to help clinicians identify people with higher risk of liver cancer in the first few years of tumor formation.

The research team believes that the level of high bile acid may be a feasible symbol of the risk of liver cancer. Therefore, they tested the bile acid concentration of serum sample collected from 1985 to 1988.

It was found that among 224 men developing liver cancer, the baseline level of blood bile acidic acid is twice that of men who have not developed to liver cancer. A statistical analysis also found that people with the highest level of bile acid in the blood increased by more than 4 times that of liver cancer risk.

The research team also tries to study the relationship between fibrous intake, bile acid level and human liver cancer.

Among the 1/4 crowd of blood bile acid at the sample, high fiber intake can reduce the risk of liver cancer by 29%. But for the first 1/4 people, high fiber intake increased by 40%of the risk of liver cancer.

Yeoh and Vijay-Kumar said that people who know that bile acids in their blood are higher than normal levels, and they need to conduct regular blood tests and treat fiber intake carefully.

Related thesis information:

https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2022.08.033

"China Science News" (2022-09-29 2nd Edition International)

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Edit | Zhao Lu

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