How Exercise can help your prevent colon cancer

Stay active and exercise as much as possible

Exercise helps speed the passage of stools through the intestines. The other bonus to exercise is helping reduce excess weight, which is food step 6. Exercise is thought to boost metabolism (increasing the amount of calories we burn just maintaining our bodies), in addition to burning the calories we need to fuel our exercise.

Since 1980, seven out of eight studies that examined the relationship between physical activity and colon cancer concluded that exercise reduces the risk. These studies included people in significantly large numbers on several continents (North America, Europe, and Asia).

Just 30 minutes of walking a day cut colon cancer risk by 10 percent in the Harvard nurses’ study. The walking sped up the time it took a stool to travel out of the intestine.

One large American study in 1984 found that men with sedentary occupations (such as accountants or lawyers) had a colon cancer risk 60 percent higher than men whose work required some exercise (such as carpenters or mail carriers). A similar Swedish study found that a sedentary job was associated with a 30 percent increase in cancer risk. Part of the decrease in risk as job-related exercise increases could also be due to other health habits. More studies will be needed to prove that exercise exerts an independent protective effect.

Today, most of us have sedentary jobs that keep us on our duff, which means unless we make a point to get some exercise in our off hours, our risk of colon cancer could increase by 30 percent or more.

If you haven’t been exercising on a regular basis, getting started is the hardest part. Once you get going, and you start feeling the difference (more energy, better sleep), it’s easier to keep it up. If you are a self-proclaimed couch potato, then maybe riding a stationary bike while you watch television is a good place to start.

Keys to exercise success

You are more likely to start exercising, and stay exercising, if you:

See that there is a big benefit to doing it.
Choose activities you actually enjoy.
Feel comfortable and competent doing the activity.
Feel safe doing the activity.
Can get to the activity easily on a regular basis.
Can fit the activity into your daily schedule.
Feel that the exercise doesn’t cost too much of your money or time.

In one recent study researchers looked at which exercise group was able to maintain the most weight loss over an 18-month period. The group that exercised for short bouts (four to 10 minutes each time, totaling 40 minutes a day) gained the most weight back, and the group exercising for long bouts (five times a week, 40 minutes each time) gained back less weight than the first group. The group that maintained the most weight loss was the group that received treadmills for their homes. Having the equipment at home made it easier and more convenient for them to exercise on a regular basis.

Tips to take home:

Find something you enjoy and you’re more likely to stick to it.

Discover what time of day you are most likely to exercise. For me this is late at night, after my entire family is in bed. I turn on the television, get on my stationary bike, and pedal away the day’s stresses and frustrations, while I watch one of my favorite shows.
Maybe you need more social types of exercise, such as dance classes or a walk with a neighbor, co-worker, or friend. When you are walking and talking with someone you really like, time flies by.
Make a rainy day plan. Don’t let the weather put a damper on your fitness schedule. Some people like to use exercise videos for this type of situation. Home exercise equipment comes in handy for this as well.
Exercise in short spurts throughout the day. If you work in an office, walk from your car or subway, then take the stairs a few times during the day. Then do a little extra exercise at home in the evening.

It’s important to speak with your doctor before beginning an exercise program or increasing the amount or intensity of the exercise you currently do.

Looking to future research

Researchers are looking into whether the following factors may help decrease colorectal cancer risk:

Low-fat dairy products. (Various studies have suggested a link between low-fat dairy products and a diet adequate in calcium, with a lower risk of colon cancer, or lower recurrence of colorectal polyps. Calcium is thought to possibly inhibit damage in the colon from bile acids, which might encourage cancerous tumors.)
Garlic.
Calcium.
Vitamins C, D, and E.
Coffee.
Regular use of aspirin. (The benefits of taking a single aspirin, 325 mg, four to six times a week, are being investigated.)
Hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women.

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