A High-Fiber, Plant-Based Diet in Myeloma Precursor Disorders: Results from the NUTRIVENTION Clinical Trial and Preclinical Vk*MYC Model.
Shah UA, Cogrossi LL, Garcés JJ, Policastro A, Castro F
Gut Microbiome
Fiber that protects against a blood cancer comes from the same fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains you can grow or buy at a farmers market — making your dinner plate a genuine health intervention.
Researchers tested whether eating more plants and fiber could help people who had an early warning sign for a blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Over 24 weeks, participants who ate a plant-rich, high-fiber diet got healthier in multiple ways — better gut bacteria, less inflammation, and improved metabolism. Experiments in mice confirmed that it's the fiber itself doing the heavy lifting: it feeds gut bacteria that produce protective compounds, which then wake up the immune system to fight off early cancer cells.
Key Findings
23 participants on a high-fiber, plant-based diet for 12–24 weeks showed improvements in BMI, insulin resistance, gut microbiome diversity, and inflammatory markers.
Disease progression stabilized or improved in all participants, with 2 showing a measurable improvement in their precursor disease trajectory.
In mouse models, a high-fiber diet delayed progression to myeloma independent of calorie restriction or weight loss, acting through increased short-chain fatty acid production that boosted antitumor immunity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A clinical trial found that switching to a high-fiber, plant-based diet improved metabolic health, gut microbiome diversity, and immune function in people at risk of developing multiple myeloma — and mouse studies confirmed that fiber alone (not just weight loss) can slow the disease's progression.
Abstract Preview
Consumption of a Western diet and high body mass index (BMI) are risk factors for progression from premalignant phenotypes to multiple myeloma, a hematologic cancer. In the NUTRIVENTION trial (NCT0...
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