Dense bean salads, which use beans as a salad base instead of lettuce, are all the rage on social media for good reason. The beans, along with the fresh veggies in the dish, help you reach your daily fiber goal, a number that experts say most Americans don’t hit, which isn’t good. Eating enough fiber is a crucial way to reduce your risk of colon cancer, a type of cancer that’s on the rise in people 50 and younger in the US.
(It’s recommended that women eat roughly 25 grams of fiber each day while men consume about 38 grams, but most adults eat roughly 10 grams of fiber each day.)
Decades ago, researchers found that people in Uganda had very low rates of colon cancer when compared to Americans because of their diet, which was high in fiber — veggies, fruits and grains — and low in meat, said Dr. Ron Quinton, the medical director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans. Specifically, colon cancer occurred at a rate of 3.5 out of 100,000 in men in Uganda compared to 51.8 out of 100,000 in men in Connecticut.
“And I think that’s the first time that it was really noticed that this was a prevention for colon cancer,” noted Quinton. Meaning, it’s really important to prioritize your fiber consumption.
There are multiple ways that fiber benefits colon health and even more ways to reach the daily recommended amount. Here’s what experts say:
Eating enough fiber helps move your stool through your digestive tract.
“Fiber plays an important role in the health of the colon, and when the colon gets unhealthy, then we’re set up for development of cancer and other inflammatory diseases,” said Quinton.
Overall, fiber adds bulk to the stool, which helps with proper colon function.
“[Fiber] makes the stools more easy to move along, so the time that the stool spends in the colon is lessened, so less chance for constipation, more normal stools,” explained Quinton.
This is also good for the removal of toxins: “If there are any toxins in the stool that lead to cancer, they spend less time in the colon, and therefore lessen the chances of cancer exposure or other diseases,” he said.
Fiber also benefits the microbiome, which is protective against colon cancer, too.
Fiber is also important for the microbiome, which has been the main focus of research in the past decade, said Mary Ellen Camire, a professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Maine.
Fiber is often prebiotic, meaning it’s food for probiotic bacteria, Camire added. And probiotics help rebuild and balance your microbiome.
“When the bacteria get a nice fiber meal, they are very active, and they make compounds that help protect the colon” against colon cancer, along with other kinds of cancers, she explained.
More, the cells that line the colon, which are called colonocytes, get their energy from the microbiome, added Quinton. “And when the colonocytes are healthy, then they form an intact barrier along the colon, so that substances that may cause disease or cancer can’t cross that barrier,” Quinton said.
“It also helps the colon produce mucus [and] thick mucus lining also protects the colon, so without enough fiber, our microbiome gets diseased and they don’t produce the energy or nutrients that our colon needs to stay healthy,” he noted.
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Here’s how you can eat more fiber:
“Fiber is a really critical part of our overall diet, and the typical American only gets 5 or 10% of the recommended amount of fiber in their diet on any given day,” said Quinton.
As mentioned above, women need about 25 grams of fiber each day and men need about 38 grams, he said.
Beans and legumes are very high in fiber and certain fruits and veggies are, too. Lentils have 18 grams of fiber per cup, black beans have about 15 grams in 1 can, chia seeds have 10 grams in 2 tablespoons, barley has 6 grams in 1 cup, raspberries have 8 grams in 1 cup and a pear has 6 grams, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
This summer, you could make a bean and whole wheat pasta salad to up your fiber intake, or make some cold barley salads, said Camire. You can also lean into seasonal produce, she said.
Camire added that it’s important to spread your fiber intake out across the day and to consume different kinds of foods for fiber.
“The mistake a lot of people make when they decide ‘I’m going to make fiber a priority’ is they don’t give their system time to adjust. If you’re used to eating 15 grams of fiber a day, and you start eating 30 grams a day, the bacteria think they’re having a party and so you may have some gas and cramping,” Camire said.
You should start out gradually and slowly build up, she noted.
“Once you find the foods that you tolerate well and that you like, getting enough fiber won’t be difficult or expensive,” Camire added.
And fiber supplements don’t cut it.
It’s tempting to turn to fiber supplements as a quick and easy way to reach your fiber goal, but experts say you shouldn’t.
“None of the supplements … are an adequate replacement for natural fiber,” Quinton said. Also, since you need so much fiber, fiber supplements end up being just a drop in the bucket, Camire added.
While some of the supplements can increase your stool bulk and help constipation, “they don’t necessarily have the soluble fiber elements that feed the microbiome and keep it healthy, which keeps your gut healthy,” said Quinton.
“I don’t think you can just replace the fiber with supplements. You need to be eating whole food,” Quinton added.
Beyond fiber intake, there’s more you can do to lower your colon cancer risk.
It’s important to also take other preventative steps to lower your risk of developing colon cancer. These include monitoring yourself for concerning symptoms such as ongoing stomach pain, blood in your stool or a change in your bowel movements. If you notice these symptoms, talk to your doctor.
It’s also important to let your doctor know if colon cancer runs in your family as you may be eligible for an early colonoscopy screening.
Colonoscopy screenings start at 45 for those with no family history and without the symptoms mentioned above, but no matter when you’re eligible, colonoscopies are the best way to screen for colon cancer and remove potentially precancerous polyps.
“During a colonoscopy, if we see a polyp, and we believe it to be the precancerous kind, which the vast majority are, we will remove those polyps at the colonoscopy,” Dr. Jeffrey Dueker, a gastroenterologist at UPMC and an associate professor of gastroenterology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, previously told HuffPost. “And in doing so, we are reducing the colorectal cancer risk going forward,” Dueker added.
With rising colon cancer rates in the U.S., it’s important to do what you can to lessen your risk, which includes eating a high-fiber diet, going to necessary doctor’s appointments and monitoring yourself for symptoms.