Eating healthier may lower colorectal cancer risk
People can lower their risk of colorectal cancer—which is currently rising in younger people—by following a healthier diet, experts say.
Colorectal cancer is one of the top causes of cancer-related deaths in people under 50 years old. In an August 2 New York Times article, Edward Giovannucci, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, recommended ways to reduce the risk, such as following a healthy diet that includes high-fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. He noted that foods rich in calcium—including things like milk, yogurt, tofu, and dark leafy greens—could also reduce risk because calcium may attach to harmful compounds in the gut and keep them from damaging cells. Yogurt, he added, also contains probiotics that could prevent harmful microbes from colonizing the gut.
Experts said that in addition to eating healthy foods, exercising could also lower the risk of colorectal cancer—and other diseases such as heart conditions and type 2 diabetes. “Everything that’s good for colon cancer is actually good for overall health,” Giovannucci said.
Read the New York Times article: How Your Diet Influences Your Colorectal Cancer Risk
