Custom Search

A Highly Preventable Cancer

Diet, lifestyle may lower colon cancer risk

One renowned researcher estimates that 70 percent of colon cancers could be prevented with only moderate changes in diet and lifestyle. Current research points to several strategies you could employ to protect yourself against colon cancer development. Future research should be able to tell which of these inter-related strategies is most important for your particular needs.

One prime suspect now is insulin resistance. In this condition, higher levels of insulin circulate because the body is less responsive to it. Insulin and related growth factors seem to change cell processes in ways that promote the development of cancer.

Insulin resistance could explain why inactive and overweight people, especially with excess weight around the waist, are more likely to develop colon cancer.

One new study looks more closely at the diet and finds excess calorie consumption to be the real culprit. Other studies suggest, however, that saturated fat and refined carbohydrates, which include sugars and refined grains, may be more damaging than other sources of calories.

Although physical activity does not change colon cancer risk in all studies, it is a key part of any risk reduction plan. The latest National Cancer Institute (NCI) review of steps to prevent colon cancer reports that activity lowers risk 40 to 50 percent on average.

Activity’s effectiveness might be related to its tendency to prevent weight gain, or directly affect insulin levels. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) recommends an hour of moderate activity daily.

Diet factors

Frequent consumption of red meat or processed meat is a risk in many studies. Processed meat contains substances that can develop into carcinogenic compounds. Fatty red meat is high in saturated fat, which is the most damaging type of fat.

Even lean red meat, however, can be high in cancer-causing substances called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), if well done or cooked at high temperatures, like frying, broiling or grilling. Meat consumption may be especially dangerous if your diet is low in vegetables.

Consuming enough calcium is the latest strategy to lower colon cancer risk. A recent study looked at the recurrence of colon polyps, which are noncancerous growths that can turn into cancer. Polyp recurrence was 29 percent lower with a higher consumption of calcium and vitamin D.

Research presented at AICR’s most recent research conference suggested that calcium might be especially important for those with a high-fat diet. By binding fatty acids and bile acids – both of which promote cancer – in our digestive tract, calcium may protect the colon.

Doubts about fiber

For a long time, fiber has been considered a vital colon cancer fighter. It was consistently significant in laboratory experiments and high in the diets of populations with low colon cancer risk. But now large studies that followed people for years cast doubt on this link.

Perhaps, a particular type of fiber, like fiber from whole-grain breads and cereals, is significant. Or maybe fiber is important for some people. Whatever the case may be, eating an abundance of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans is still a wise strategy. The only difference is that these fiber-rich foods now seem more beneficial for the antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals they contain.

For example, vegetables high in folate, like leafy greens, seem to offer particular protection from colon cancer, especially for those who drink alcohol. Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, also contain phytochemicals that may prevent damage to colon cells’ DNA by stimulating enzymes that convert carcinogens to inactive forms.

Gentle Colon Cleansing - Is It Possible?

By: Steven Godlewski

Colon Cleansing isn't something that most people want to talk about, much less think about, but it is a necessary part of life if you want to be healthy. According to medical experts, we have between five and 25 pounds of excess waste built up inside our colons. This bacterium causes bacteria and toxins to spread in our bodies, causing sickness and even death. In fact, 90% of all illnesses and diseases are due to unclean colons.

This accumulation of waste also prevents us from absorbing nutrients that our bodies need. Many people envision colon cleansing as an unpleasant procedure that is done at the doctor's office, involving a hose. This is no longer the case. Colon cleansing can be done orally, and it is not painful at all. In fact, it can be a very gentle process.

Look at this fact. Animals do not die from colon cancer. However, human beings - with all of our technology and available resources - die from colon cancer at an alarming rate. There is a reason for this. Animals depend on nature for their survival, while human beings depend on processed foods that do not resemble nature at all.

Also consider the fact that animals have two or three bowel movements each day. This is because their systems work properly. Humans believe that they should have one bowel movement every day or two - and this isn't true. We should also have two or three bowel movements each day.

A dirty colon not only causes illnesses and disease, it can also prevent us from losing weight simply because we are not able to break down and excrete the food that we eat. But losing weight is the least of our worries. This year, 50,000 men and women in the United States will die from colon cancer.

Colon cleansing, which is a vital part of being healthy or regaining one's health, isn't what it used to be. Today, it can be done gently and orally. This is not like taking laxatives either. Using an all natural colon cleansing system will detoxify, remove parasites, prevent toxicity, aid in weight loss, prevent illness and diseases, and prevent colon cancer.

A good Colon Cleanse Program also cleans the colon by breaking down hardened wastes from the intestinal walls using herbal tabs. It then attracts and holds toxins that have accumulated in the body with activated charcoal, and then takes those toxins from the body with fiber.

Again, colon cleansing isn't a topic that most people want to think about, much less do. But if you consider the alternative, colon cleansing isn't so bad, and in the end, you will feel and live a great deal better. The alternative is having rotted and impacted fecal matter living inside your colon, and all that entails - toxins, illness, disease, and colon cancer.

The colon cleansing process is very gentle, and lasts over an extended period of time. It isn't the violent process that you may have imagined. It doesn't require the assistance of a doctor - or anyone else. This is something that you can do in your own home with oral formulas. You will feel better and be healthier - so, you should consider giving yourself this gift as soon as possible.

Copyright (c) 2006 PillFreeVitamins.com
Article Source: http://www.ApprovedArticles.com
Steven Godlewski is currently working with a Liquid Vitamins company PillFreeVitamins.com They are the #1 distributor for Life Force International products. He has an extensive background in nutrition as well as other health related fields. For more health-related articles see their website at: www.pillfreevitamins.com

Hormones Might Help Treat Colon Cancer

WEDNESDAY, 01/08/2007 2:51:00 PM (HealthDay News) - Hormone deficiency is a prime cause of colon cancer, which means that it may be possible to treat the disease with hormone replacement therapy, a new study suggests.

In experiments with mice, a team at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, focused on GCC (guanylyl cyclase C), a protein receptor on the surface of intestinal epithelial cells. They looked specifically at two hormones, guanylin and uroguanylin, which regulate the growth of intestinal epithelial cells.

Reporting in the Aug. 1 issue of Gastroenterology, the researchers found that GCC helped suppress colon tumor formation in mice.

Study author Dr. Scott Waldman, professor and chair of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at Jefferson Medical College, noted that early in colon cancer development, the hormones guanylin and uroguanylin are "lost" and not expressed. This disrupts the activity of GCC.

The study finding "converts colon cancer from a genetic disease, which is the way we've all thought about it, to a disease of hormone insufficiency," Waldman said in a prepared statement.

"Not only does this give a new paradigm in how we think about the disease, but it give us a new paradigm for treating the disease - that is, by hormone replacement therapy," he said.


	Enter keyword: