The connection between Diet and Colon Cancer

Over the past few decades, researchers have been scrambling to make advances to treat cancer and understand what causes it. So far, we know many factors may cause cancer, but they are not completely understood. What makes the situation more complicated is that these factors are most likely interrelated. Can living “right” have an impact on our cancer risk?

A recent landmark report from the American Institute for Cancer Research (Food Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer A Global Perspective) estimates that:

Eating the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day can reduce cancer rates by more than 20 percent.
Eating right, plus staying physically active and maintaining a healthy weight can cut cancer risk by 30 to 40 percent.
Recommended dietary choices coupled with not smoking have the potential to reduce cancer risk by 60 to 70 percent.

Diet can play a role at any stage of cancer

What we eat (diet) is considered to be a factor in 20 to 50 percent of all cancer cases in general. Diet can play a role at any stage of cancer initiation, promotion, or recovery. But here’s the key dietary components can have a protective role and help prevent cancer or they can have a stimulatory role and help promote cancer. It depends on the dietary component and the type of cancer.

Different food components appear to be more related to cancer prevention or promotion in certain organs. We’ll look at colon cancer specifically in a bit, but for overall cancer prevention these are generally the foods to choose:

Cruciferous (cabbage family) vegetables. These contain many phytochemicals with protective powers, such as bioflavonoids which are associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.
Antioxidant-rich plant foods. This group includes foods rich in the carotenoid family of phytochemicals, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium, which help reduce damage to tissues from oxygen-seeking free radicals. It’s the yellow, orange, and dark green vegetables that tend to be good sources of carotenoids. The citrus fruits, berries, and dark green vegetables are high in vitamin C. Whole grains are sources of vitamin E and selenium.
High-fiber foods.

Overall these are the food habits to lose:

High levels of food fat.
High levels of alcohol.
Extra (unneeded) calories.
Nitrosamines (created when meats are fried or charcoal broiled at very high temperatures; broiling, baking, stewing, and microwaving do not produce the same effect).

Beyond diet, age, genetics, and lifestyle (smoking, stress, lack of exercise, and environmental factors such as sun exposure and pollution) are also important things to consider.

What are free radicals and how are they made?

Free radicals are oxygen molecules and other highly reactive compounds that can damage body cells. It is believed that repeated assaults from various environmental factors (such as viruses, malnutrition, pollutants, or solar radiation) and normal cell production and division can cause free radicals to be produced in the body.

What can we do to defend ourselves against damage from free radicals?

Antioxidants from the food we eat help neutralize free radicals. There are an estimated 4,000 compounds in the foods we eat that act as antioxidants. The most known are vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and the mineral selenium. Researchers have been finding that a large group of colorful pigments in fruits and vegetables may be responsible for much of the antioxidant protection against free radicals. These antioxidants sacrifice themselves chemically to neutralize the free radicals so they can’t cause oxidative damage to body cells (that’s why they are called “anti” oxidants). Laboratory tests have concluded that blueberries, strawberries and concord grape juice have the highest antioxidant capacity.

Why is it important to protect ourselves against free radicals as we age?

Your body has a network of defenses set up to help neutralize free radicals so they can’t cause trouble, but these defenses may become less efficient with age, allowing damage to accelerate. To put the odds in your favor we are basically saying:

Eat a diet rich in a variety of plant foods (fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans).
Avoid eating a high fat diet.
Exercise regularly.
Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Limit alcohol if you drink.
Refrain from smoking.

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