Slash liver cancer nearly 40 percent with the ‘right’ fiber

Every year more than 30,000 people die from cancer — more men than women.

And, although liver cancer is only the 10^th most common cancer in men, it’s their 5^th leading cause of cancer deaths.

As bad as those statistics are, it’s even scarier to know that liver cancer rates and deaths are on the rise. In fact, it’s the only cancer with rates expected to go up year after year in both women and men.

In all that though, there is good news.

According to a study published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 71 percent of liver cancer cases are due to preventable risk factors — meaning they’re in your control and you can change them like smoking and obesity.

In fact, according to Farhad Islami, the strategic director for cancer surveillance research at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, “Preventing exposure to those risk factors would mean a substantial proportion of liver cancer deaths — about 50 percent — could be prevented.”

And, there’s more good news…

A new study has found that just by making a simple dietary change, you can bring down your risk of the most common form of liver cancer by almost 40 percent.

Oatmeal, brown rice or quinoa, anyone?

The research, published in JAMA Oncology, followed more than 125,000 patients in the United States for approximately 24 years comparing their intake of different types of fiber to their incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC which accounts for about 75 percent of all liver cancers.

And, the scientists discovered that while increased intake of fruit and vegetable fiber had no effect on liver cancer rates, patients who ate the largest amounts of whole grains had a 37 percent lower risk of the cancer than those who consumed the least.

According to the researchers, consuming higher levels of whole grains decreases insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia (when you have too much insulin in your blood compared to glucose) and inflammation — all signs of HCC.

Whole grain benefits for a healthier life

And, reducing your chance of liver cancer isn’t the only benefit of eating more whole grains could bring to your life and your health.

A diet rich in whole grains also reduces your risk of:

• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Diabetes
• Obesity

It’s also a great way to get more of the B vitamins, iron and folate as well as minerals like magnesium, potassium, and selenium your body needs to function optimally.

Good sources of whole grains to add to your daily diet are:

• Whole-oat oatmeal
• Brown rice
• Popcorn
• Quinoa
• Whole-wheat bread, pasta or crackers (as long as you’re not gluten-sensitive)

Sources:

1. Liver Cancer: Statistics — Cancer.Net | American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
2. Liver Cancer on the Rise — Cancer Today
3. Whole grains can reduce risk of liver cancer by nearly 40 percent, study finds — CNBC
4. Liver cancer types — CTCA