Whole grain cereals cancer

Recent studies by Ross et.al. have demonstrated that resorcinolic lipids (5-alkylresorcinols) present in high fibre whole grain cereal diet can be used as biomarkers, i.e. compounds that can be used for the epidemiological studies of the effects of dietary intake in human health [412-415]. These phenolic compounds are absorbed from the ileum by animals and humans and may be determined quantitatively in the serum [416] and their metabolites also in human urine [412], Further data confirm that cereal grain 5-alkylreesorcinols modify animal lipid metabolism in vivo and in vitro [413,417] which make them very interesting in relation to the risks of diabetes, obesity, heart diseases and some cancers. 

Fruit and vegetable fiber has been consistently associated with a lower risk of colon cancer, but the relationship with cereal fiber is less clear. However, whole grain cereals appear to be protective—a further anomaly in the relationships between plant foods and disease risk. These discrepancies may be in the process of resolution. First, it seems that the early observational data were confounded by the analytical technologies available, and the perception that native populations consuming unrefined diets had high fiber intakes is incorrect. It seems likely that they ate relatively little fiber but had high intakes of RS. Population studies have shown a protective effect of apparent RS intake and colorectal cancer risk. The word apparent is pivotal because there is currently no accepted method for RS determination and thus, there are no reliable data on dietary intakes. There are also issues regarding the intakes of dietary fiber and cancer risk. Part of the problem inherent in the study of colonic cancer is that, in contrast to CHD (in which there are easily measurable risk markers such as plasma cholesterol that can be modified by diet), the only indices for colon cancer are not easily measurable ... 

McIntosh GH and Jacobs DR (2002) Cereal-grain foods, fibers and cancer prevention. Im Marquart L, Slavin JL, and Fulcher RG (eds.) Whole-grain Foods in Health and Disease, pp. 155-185. Minnesota American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

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