Stay True To African Diets And Live Longer

Food plays an important role in the life of every creature on earth. However, what you eat has a tremendous effect on your health. We all have our special meals or diets depending on their mode of preparation and origin. Foods of different origin have different characteristics which make them unique from others. For instance, due to influx of immigrants, America has a rich diversity in food preparation leading to a variety of dishes such as Hawaiian haystack, jambalaya, yeung chow fried rice, hamburger, chimichanga and oysters rockefeller. Africa has a wide array of cuisines enjoyed across its region with most of them containing very high starch, meat and spice. Fufu, kenkey, gari, potjiekos, couscous, xalwo, injera and fulmedames are examples of indigenous cuisines enjoyed by most people across the continent which mostly contain high fibre.

Thanks to medical research, consumers are aware of the benefits and consequences of what they eat. There are many reports on the devastating effects of excessive fat and oil, and salt on the body likewise the health benefits of most nutrients. The latest discovery in cancer medicine is the association between diet and cancer risk. An internationally recognized team of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and Imperial College London has conducted a well-controlled study on the effects of diets on colon cancer risk for Africans and Americans. Colon cancer is the fourth leading cancer in the world resulting in about 600,000 deaths each year. This deadly type of cancer is highly seen among African-Americans than Africans. In the study, 20 participants each of African-Americans and Africans who were on their normal diet were recruited; the bacteria in their colon were also sampled and tested. More than half of the participants from America had increased inflammation resulting in polyps formation – a harmless abnormal growth that can progress to cancer – in the bowel lining. These subjects also had high biomarkers for colon cancer risk while subjects from African had none of these recorded abnormalities.

The investigators swapped the diets of these subjects for two weeks and the findings were incredible. A marked decrease in polyps formation and biomarkers for cancer risk were recorded for the subjects from America. However, the subjects from Africa who initially had no abnormalities were seen to develop increased inflammation leading to polyps formation with increased biomarkers for colon cancer risk. The investigators have attributed these tremendous colon changes to the food constituents and microbiome – bacteria in the gut. This relation is not new to cancer research, however, the significant changes realized in that shortest possible time is something remarkable and surprising – Prof. Jeremy Nicholson, Department of Surgery and Cancer at the Imperial College London.

Comparatively, American diets contain high fat, high protein and very low amount of fiber than that of African origin. Dietary fibers have protective effects against colorectal cancers mainly due to its fermentation to butyrate by the gut bacteria. According to Bultman S.J of Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University of North Carolina, moderate dietary fibre results in low to moderate levels of butyrate which serves as a food source for the colonocytes – cells of the colon. Butyrate undergoes beta-oxidation in the mitochondria to generate about 70% of energy for the normal colonocytes. A very high amount of dietary fiber therefore leads to the accumulation of unmetabolised butyrate in the cell nucleus acting as histone deacetylase inhibitor to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. This cumulative effect contributes to the decreased levels of polyps formation and biomarkers for colon cancer risk. The protective effect of dietary-related butyrate has also been reported by McIntyre A., Department of Medicine – University of Melbourne and Julia Wong, Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification – St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto.

Aside butyrate, a Japanese scientist called Ohsawa Ikuroh from Nippon Medical School has reported on the potential protective antioxidant effects of hydrogen – a by-product of dietary fibre metabolism – against colorectal cancer. On the other side, increased dietary fat may result in increased unabsorbed lipid metabolites – after gut bacteria metabolism – which infringe lethal injuries on the colon mucosa causing reactive hyper-proliferation. Some absorbed lipid metabolites could also transform into active biological products that could be a potential cancer causing agent.

The gut microbiome plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of the colon mucosa. The meals we eat however, affect its distribution and hence a change in the mucosa. Gut microbiome could therefore be explored for therapeutic prospects not only for cancer but for other inflammatory related diseases. Further investigation on butyrate should be encouraged to gain in-depth knowledge in its anti-cancer properties and other possible health benefits.

After this finding one will be tempted to ask the state of the colons of most African-Americans who have lived in America for more than 10 years. Obviously their colon mucosa will have more polyps compared to that of their African counterparts. This should serve as a warning to Africans living a westernized life regardless of their country of residence. This work is not about American foods, but rather, eating food that is rich in fiber and low fat. The progressive westernization of Africans could mean progressive cancer development. It is not always about what you eat, rather, what you feed the gut microbiome with. The power lies in your hands to embrace cancer or life. Stay true to African diets.

Meshach Asare-Werehene (Cancer Immunologist)