Three major mechanisms of cellulose in preventing colon cancer

Since the 1970s, there have been more and more reports on the role of dietary fiber in cancer prevention, especially the role of cellulose in preventing colorectal cancer. According to a survey in India, people living in northern India consume much more dietary fiber than those in the south, while the incidence of colorectal cancer is also much lower than that in the south. So how does cellulose inhibit the development of malignant tumors?

High water holding capacity

Cellulose has a strong water-retaining capacity, with a water absorption rate of up to 10 times. After absorbing water, the volume of intestinal contents increases, the stool becomes looser and softer, and it passes through the intestines more smoothly and with less effort. Cellulose can dilute the carcinogens in the stool by increasing the amount of stool, that is, reducing its concentration and thus reducing the carcinogenicity of harmful substances in the intestine.

Speed ​​up bowel movements

Dietary fiber, as a foreign body in the intestine, can stimulate the contraction and peristalsis of the intestine and speed up the excretion of stool, thus reducing the time for the possible formation of carcinogens and shortening the contact time between harmful substances and intestinal wall cells, thereby reducing the possibility of cell canceration.

Enhance human immunity

Dietary fiber has a strong ability to bind and exchange cations. It can bind organic compounds, prevent certain environmental pollutants from harming the human body, and play a detoxifying role. Water-soluble dietary fiber is digested and absorbed by the human body, enters the large intestine and is used by bifidobacteria, promoting the proliferation of bifidobacteria. Bifidobacteria can decompose carcinogens such as nitrosamines and improve the phagocytic ability of macrophages, thereby increasing the body's immune function and resistance to tumors.

Cellulose can also change the nature and behavior of intestinal bacteria, reducing the likelihood of normal flora becoming cancerous.

Tips: Fiber content of common foods

1. Cereals: 4-10%, arranged from most to least: wheat grains, barley, corn, buckwheat noodles, coix seeds noodles, sorghum rice, and black rice.

2. Oatmeal: 8-9%; Oatmeal: 5-6%.

3. The cellulose content of potatoes, sweet potatoes and other tubers is about 3%.

4. Beans: 6-15%, arranged from most to least: soybeans, green beans, broad beans, kidney beans, peas, black beans, adzuki beans, and mung beans.

5. Vegetables: Bamboo shoots have the highest cellulose content, with the cellulose content of dried bamboo shoots reaching 30-40%. Other vegetables with high cellulose content include: fern, cauliflower, spinach, pumpkin, cabbage, and rapeseed.

6. Fungi: The cellulose content is the highest, among which pine mushrooms have a cellulose content of nearly 50%, and those with more than 30% are arranged from most to least: shiitake mushrooms, white fungus, and black fungus. In addition, the cellulose content of seaweed is also high, reaching 20%.