Shift from a mixed diet to a lactovegetarian diet: Influence on some cancer‐associated intestinal bacterial enzyme activities

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Abstract
This investigation studied the effects of a shift from a mixed diet to a lactovegetarian diet on some cancer‐associated bacterial enzymes in human feces (ß‐glucuronidase, ß‐glucosidase, and sulphatase). Three months after the shift to the lactovegetarian diet, there was a significant decrease in ß‐glucuronidase, ß‐glucosidase, and sulphatase activities per gram feces wet weight (p p < 0.01). However, the fecal excretion increased significantly (p < 0.05). Part of the explanation for the decreased enzyme activities is obviously a dilution effect, because much of the increased fecal weight after the shift in diet was associated with a higher water content. The higher water content was probably due to a higher fiber intake (p < 0.001). Thus, the results in this paper indicate that a change from a mixed diet to a lactovegetarian diet leads to a decrease in certain enzyme activities proposed to be risk factors for colon cancer.