Colon Cancer And African Americans Vs Africans In Africa

The rate of colon cancer for African Americans is much higher than the rate for Africans in Africa. This fact should distance genetics being primarily blamed for the development of disease, and put more of the blame on the foods people eat.

The difference between the colon cancer rate between African Americans and Africans in Africa was due to diet and genetics. African Americans primarily eat a Western diet that is high in meat, dairy, and processed foods compared to the more traditional plant-centered diets of Africans in Africa.

Science shows that the choices in diets which are so opposite to each other influences the way the immune system develops in the digestive tract. 80% of the immune system is in the digestive tract and is determined by the makeup of its gut flora or bacteria.

Researchers examined the bacteria in the colons of people throughout the world and amazing they found out people basically were dominant in one of two enterotypes (groups) of bacteria in the colon. From billions of people in the world, people had just two groups of bacteria in their colons.

The two groups of bacteria consist of bacteroides and prevotella. The dominance in one or the other group of bacteria was also correlated to the diets people consumed.

People who consumed a Western diet high in meat, dairy, and processed foods predominantly had bacteroide bacteria in their colons. People who consumed plant-centered diets predominantly had prevotella bacteria in their colons.

This is important to know because it shows that meat-centered diets effect the environment in the body differently than plant-based diets do, and the effect is detrimental to homeostasis in the body.

Africans who consumed a traditional African diet consumed a plant-centered diet. They consumed some unprocessed meat but their diet consisted mainly of plant foods. The fiber and the phytonutrients that were bound to the plants made their way to the colon and fed the good bacteria that protected the African’s colons against cancer and other diseases.

The high concentration of nutrients in the plants also helped in supporting homeostasis of the organs. The consumption of plant-centered diets also reduced or avoided the pathogens and toxins of meat, dairy, and processed foods that lead to the development of chronic diseases including cancer.