Fiber-Caused Diseases On The Rise
There is no evidence to suggest adding extra fiber to your diet has the effect of curing or preventing
diseases. Although bran has been a popular way to manage Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) for about
thirty years, there is no placebo-controlled study of bran in IBS that has shown any convincing beneficial
effect. A study, published in 1994, found that while fruit fiber was helpful in IBS, bran only made the
situation worse. Far from being a cure for IBS, the researchers found that it was the bran that was actually
causing it! Bran also led to bowel disturbances, abdominal distension and pain. There is also a growing
skepticism in the U.S. that lack of fiber causes cancer; some studies even suggest that a fiber-enhanced
diet increases the risk of colon cancer.
Other Adverse Effects Of Added Fiber
While fruit and vegetable fiber is quite harmless for the body, bran fiber from grain foods should be
avoided as it poses a considerable health risk. Research conducted on the supposed benefits of dietary
fiber shows that eating fiber-enriched foods can upset basic physiological processes. Food absorption
through the gut wall should neither be slowed nor be rushed. However, fiber abnormally speeds up food
transportation through the gut, which leads to decreased nutrient absorption. Eating fiber-enriched foods
or foods containing rough fiber can significantly inhibit the absorption of iron, calcium, phosphorus,
magnesium, sugars, proteins, fats and vitamins A, D, E and K. Phytates found in cereal fiber (bran), for
example, bind with calcium, iron and zinc making them indigestible, which in turn causes poor
absorption.
In one study comparing the body’s ability to utilize nutrients from whole wheat bread and white bread,
subjects actually absorbed more iron from white bread than from whole wheat bread. Remarkably,
although the whole wheat bread contained fifty percent more iron than the white bread, the body wasn’t
able to extract it. In addition, bran has also been shown to cause fecal loss of calcium, iron, zinc,
phosphorus, nitrogen, fats, fatty acids and sterols, thus depleting the body of these materials.
These findings are of particular concern to people suffering from conditions related to nutrient
deficiencies. The get-your-daily-fiber-mania can put several sections of the population at considerable
health risk from eating too much fiber in their diet. The following are some of the risks:
- The incidence of osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) is rapidly increasing and now affects one in two
post-menopausal women. Osteoporosis is also now a leading cause of death among men.
Osteoporosis is a metabolic disorder caused by many factors, including poor calcium absorption due
to bile duct blockage in the liver and gallbladder; milk, cheese, meat, and other acid-forming foods
and beverages; and bran. Bran both inhibits the absorption of calcium from food and depletes the
body of the calcium it has. Bran also depletes zinc the body requires to restore bone health. - Sufferers of Alzheimer's disease (senile dementia) are found to have abnormal amounts of aluminum
in their brains. Tests on the people of Guam and parts of New Guinea and Japan, who get Alzheimer's
disease at a much younger age, suggest that it is a lack of calcium, causing a hormonal imbalance,
that permits the aluminum to penetrate the brain. - Infants may suffer brain damage when fed with soy-based baby formula. Soy is rich in phytates,
which inhibit the absorption of zinc. Zinc is essential for proper brain development.