High fiber diets are usually recommended as part of a healthy lifestyle. Not only are they supposed to prevent constipation, there is a belief that they are beneficial for both heart health and colon cancer prevention.
New research at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, suggests, however, that there may be a downside to this way of eating. Research in mice has shown that a high-fiber diet makes them more susceptible to toxins produced by disease-causing E. coli bacteria.
The researchers do not recommend that people avoid high-fiber diets, but they do caution that bacterial contamination of fruits and vegetables may be especially dangerous for people who consume lots of extra fiber.
