Research Paper
I. Question and Hypothesis
1.) Does fiber help prevent colon cancer?
2.) If a high fiber intake is taken daily, then the risk of colon cancer is reduced.
3.) Independent variable: Fiber
Dependent variables: Incidences of colon cancer
Control: Patients without colon cancer
Other factors: Age, gender, duration of studies, dosage of fiber intake, general population, and patients' health status.
4.) The purpose of this research paper is to investigate scientific studies to determine if fiber intake is relative to the reduction of colon cancer.
Rationale:
Colon cancer has often been studied and linked to diet. The American Medical Association emphasizes the importance of eating whole grains and five fruits and vegetables daily. In addition, health literature stresses the need for fiber foods to cleanse the colon and lungs, the sites of the highest incidence of cancer in Americans. Fiber therefore has been identified as an important component of a healthy diet.
English: Colorectal cancer, gross appearance of an...
Micrograph showing sodium polystyrene sulfonate cr...
Endoscopic image of colon cancer identified in the...The beginnings of the fiber-colon cancer debate sparked in 1970 when a missionary doctor compared colon cancer results between America and Africa. He compared the diets high in animal fats of western countries to the diets high in plant-based fiber in poorer countries such as Africa. It is from this perspective that this study of the research literature has been made to determine the effectiveness of fiber in relation to reducing the risk of colon cancer.
II. Background Information
1.) The last 5 or 6 feet of the large intestine, the colon, is connected to the 5 to 6 inch rectum to create the "large bowel." This is the area referred to in the term "colorectal cancer." Approximately 130,000 Americans develop this cancer and each year 56,000 die from it annually. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer. This...