In a groundbreaking trial named CAPP2, conducted by experts from the Universities of Newcastle and Leeds, it has been revealed that resistant starch, present in everyday foods such as oats and slightly green bananas, holds the potential to substantially decrease the risk of various cancers. The study, which included nearly 1,000 participants with Lynch syndrome from across the globe, has unveiled promising findings that highlight the potential cancer-fighting properties of this common dietary component.
According to Cancer Research UK, Lynch syndrome, affecting approximately one in 300 individuals in the UK, stems from a genetic mutation that heightens the susceptibility to bowel, womb, ovarian, and various other cancers.
Individuals with Lynch syndrome face an elevated lifetime risk of up to 80% for developing bowel cancer, alongside a heightened vulnerability to other cancers at an earlier age compared to the general populace. The findings of the study revealed that a consistent intake of resistant starch, also recognized as fermentable fiber, over an average span of two years, did not influence the incidence of bowel cancers. However, it did demonstrate a significant reduction of more than half in cancers arising in other regions of the body.
The impact was notably remarkable for upper gastrointestinal cancers, encompassing oesophageal, gastric, biliary tract, pancreatic, and duodenum cancers. What's truly astonishing about the study is that this effect persisted for as long as 10 years after participants ceased taking the supplement.
Published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, the research constitutes a meticulously planned double-blind study with a 10-year follow-up. Furthermore, it was augmented by thorough national cancer registry data spanning up to 20 years for 369 of the participants.
Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that is not digested in the small intestine; instead, it ferments in the large intestine, feeding beneficial gut bacteria. It acts, in effect, like dietary fibre in the digestive system. This type of starch has several health benefits and fewer calories than regular starch, According to Professor John Mathers, Professor of Human Nutrition at Newcastle University, “We think that resistant starch may reduce cancer development by changing the bacterial metabolism of bile acids and reducing those types of bile acids that can damage our DNA and eventually cause cancer. However, this needs further research, reported Brighter Side.