With a healthy diet, the risk of many tumor diseases can be reduced – this is especially true for colon cancer.
Posted today at 6:00 am—
–A Festmeal for our intestines: peas, broccoli and nuts, which contain a lot of magnesium.
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In Switzerland, around 4400 people develop colon cancer every year and 1700 die from it. This makes it the third most common tumor in men and even the second most common in women. But there is also good news: the number of cases is falling slightly, at least among those over 50. Experts attribute this to improved early detection (colonoscopy / detection of invisible blood), but also to increased health awareness. Similar to lung cancer, the risk of the bowel disease can also be reduced significantly with a healthy lifestyle: estimates are between 20 and 60 percent.
Diet plays a key role in this. This has just been shown by an evaluation of over 80 studies that appeared in the British Gastroenterology Society’s “Gut” journal. According to the researchers, certain foods and drugs can significantly reduce the risk of colon cancer, while others can also increase it.
Protective foods
–High-fiber foods such as chickpeas are good.
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Fruit and vegetables: The consumption of vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, peas, carrots, but also apples and pears reduces the risk by 8 to 52 percent. The following applies: at least one portion each day.
Lots of fiber: Legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas), whole grain products, oat flakes, flax seeds, and kernels reduce the risk by 22 to 43 percent.
Plenty of magnesium: A high magnesium intake (at least 255 mg / day) is associated with an 11 to 22 percent lower risk. The mineral plays a crucial role in cell reproduction and the repair of DNA damage. Soy products, oats, nuts and brown rice contain a lot of magnesium. Whether magnesium has a similar positive effect when taken as a dietary supplement has not been investigated.
Milk and milkproducts: The consumption of dairy products wwrite attributed a 13 to 19 percent lower risk. However, the scientists were unable to make any clear statements about the type and quantity of the products.
Aspirin: Some medications, including acetylsalicylic acid (contained in the well-known aspirin) and anti-inflammatory pain relievers, also have a protective effect. Acetylsalicylic acid appears to slow down the aging process in the intestinal mucosa and thus reduce the susceptibility to gene mutations. However, such medications should only be taken under medical supervision, otherwise undesirable side effects such as gastric bleeding, kidney and liver damage can occur.
Food with no clear influence
Fish, coffee, statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs), vitamin A and the vitamins of the B group do not have a clear protective effect. Some studies have shown a protective effect here, others not.
Various other foods and nutritional additives that are popularly believed to have a positive effect do not seem to have any influence on the development of colon cancer: tea, leeks, garlic, selenium and the antioxidant vitamins C, D and E as well as beta-carotene.
Foods that cause cancer
–Too much red meat – for example beef – increases the risk of colon cancer considerably.
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Red meat: Regular consumption of red and processed meat increases the risk by 12 to 21 percent, according to the British researchers. Here, too, there is a relationship to the amount consumed: the more red meat is eaten, the higher the likelihood of developing colon cancer.
Alcohol: According to the study evaluation, just one or two alcoholic drinks a day lead to an increased risk of colon cancer of 12 to 20 percent.
Lots of exercise and smoke-stop
–Gastroenterologist Kaspar Truninger.
Photo: Thomas Peter / top
The gastroenterologist Kaspar Truninger, who works in Langenthal BE, read the analysis of his British colleagues with particular interest. He is currently evaluating a Swiss study himself with around 1,600 test persons on the development of colon cancer (www.stiftungcolon.ch). Because so far there have been almost only observational and no controlled studies, according to Truninger, the informative value of the British meta-analysis is limited. “However, the first data from our own study go in the same direction.”
For gastroenterologist Truninger, in addition to diet, there are three other points to be found in an anti-colon cancer lifestyle: sufficient exercise, no smoking and colon cancer screening.
