Doctors from the Cancer Prevention Organisation in Dijon (France) are no longer convinced that supplementing diets with neat fibre like wheat bran or 'fibre-full' breakfast cereals helps prevent cancer. Their advice is to get the fibre you need from natural sources like vegetables, fruits and unprocessed cereals like porridge oats.

552 people who had had benign growths called colorectal adenoma removed from their bowel wall were divided into three groups. The first was given a calcium supplement (thought to protect against cancer). The second group was given 3.5 grams of neat fibre. The third was given a placebo. After three years the neat fibre group had fared worst. 29% had developed new adenoma compared to 20% of the placebo group and 16% of the calcium group. This research confirms the conclusions of previous studies.

Bowel cancer kills approximately 18,000 Britons each year and is the second commonest cause of cancer death in the more industrially developed countries. Nearly 90% of bowel cancer cases start as colorectal adenoma.

Ed.- Studies have consistently shown a dose relationship between sugar intake and the risk of bowel cancer