ABSTRACT
The possible antitoxic effect of dietary fiber or fiber-rich foods and, more specifically, the possible protective role of dietary fiber in carcinogenesis has been the subject of many studies. After the hypothesis that colon cancer may be less common in populations consuming a high-fiber diet was proposed (see Chapter 5.5), the number of laboratory animal model studies on chemically induced carcinogenesis in the presence of various types of dietary fiber increased rapidly. Many of the early studies were done by Erschoff,
who demonstrated that otherwise-toxic levels of various substances in foods became either less toxic or non-toxic if the subject was fed with foods high in dietary fiber or some of the fiber polymers. This complex function of the fiber polymers, or high-fiber foods, is an important one. The long-term effects of low fiber compared to high fiber intakes on the toxic effects of food components, food contaminants, and, in general, environmental toxic substances, can have major implications on the etiology and/or pathogenesis of some diseases, specifically those that might be induced by carcinogens. It is interesting to note that some dietary fibers or dietary fiber-rich foods are protective for some toxic substances but not for others, and Erschoff showed that other beneficial effects such as the hypocholesterolemic effect of some fibers is often not connected to their antitoxic effects.
