Letter: In praise of fibre

Dr Roger James
Tuesday 02 February 1999 00:02 GMT
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Sir: Barry Groves is apparently wrong when he says at the end of his letter "And there is no evidence that fibre reduces the risk of heart disease either."

The authors of a recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine found no evidence that dietary fibre has any influence on the incidence of colorectal cancer; but they end their paper by saying that "there are cogent reasons for increasing fibre intake, particularly the inverse association with coronary heart disease observed in many studies".

It is worth adding that no sophisticated studies are necessary to show that fibre relieves constipation. You just have to try it.

Dr ROGER JAMES

Old Portsmouth, Hampshire

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