Colorectal cancer is a common disease, but early detection and prevention can dramatically reduce its danger. People can’t alter the sequence of their genes, but they can take practical steps to improve their health through physical activity, eating the right things, and not eating the wrong things.
Obesity is a risk factor for colorectal cancer, meaning the more obese you are the more you are at risk of developing colorectal cancer. Obese people have inefficient metabolisms, meaning toxins in their bodies are not quenched or removed as quickly as in a healthy person. Damaging particles come from the foods that we eat, but they are also a natural byproduct of our normal cells going about their daily activity.
The more physical activity someone has, the less likely they are to get colorectal cancer. One reason is that active people have efficient metabolisms that remove damaging particles quickly. Physical activity promotes and maintains muscle growth. Skeletal muscle is a large organ in the body that constantly requires oxygen and produces metabolic products. The healthier muscles are, the more easily they can clear out the damaging particles that they produce.
Adopt Healthy Diets
Diets that are high in fruits and vegetables are naturally high in fiber. High levels of fruit and veggies in a diet is associated with lower risk for colorectal cancer. Plants contain phytochemicals that are antioxidants, meaning they run into the bad metabolic products in the body and quench them like water does to fire. Plants also contain fiber, which promotes efficient passage of digested food from the body. The longer the food and toxins that we ingest reside in the colon, the greater the chance the toxins have to damage colorectal cells. Fiber prevents toxins from staying in the colon too long.
Avoid Unhealthy Diets
Diets that are high in red meat (beef, lamb, pork, and liver) increase a person’s risk of colorectal cancer. Furthermore, red meats are often grilled at high temperatures, which create molecules that are damaging to intestinal cells.
Less Smoking and Less Alcohol
Cigarette smoking introduces hundreds of carcinogens into the body. These molecules damage lung cells, blood vessels, and any cell that flows in the bloodstream through the lungs. The damaging particles, or the cells that are damaged by particles, can travel to the rest of the body. This is why an organ that is distant from the lung, like the colon, is affected by smoking. High levels of alcohol consumption are also associated with increased colorectal cancer risk.