It''s no surprise that eating right can put you on track for good health. Some even argue that nutritious
diet can lower your risk of certain cancers, though the degree to which food affects
cancer risk is still not completely understood. While some studies have shown that diet has no significant impact on colorectal cancer risk, other studies have demonstrated that particular foods can increase or decrease risk.
No matter which cancer studies are correct, positive dietary changes can only improve your overall gastrointestinal (GI) health. And if they decrease your risk of colorectal cancer, so much the better. Lynn Goldstein, MS, RD, CDN, a nutritional educator at the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health at the New York–Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City, details the foods that have been shown to have an impact and tells you how to make the most of your munching.
What role does diet play in cancer prevention?It was never originally thought that diet had such a significant impact on cancer, but it actually plays a role in many cancers, particularly in gastrointestinal cancers. In 1997, the American Institute for Cancer Research took about 4,500 different studies of food and nutrition from around the world and found that up to 75 percent of all GI cancers could actually be prevented through appropriate diet and nutrition.
Eating certain foods will help you decrease your risk of cancer. That''s what we mean by preventative eating. There are so many things that cause cancer that we can''t control. You can''t control your age or genetics. You can''t usually control the environment or the pollution around you. But we can control what we put into our mouth and our bodies, and that can significantly impact our bodies and our immune systems.
ingredients in a gut-friendly diet: First, fruits and vegetables have almost all of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function. They strengthen our immune system and keep our body going. They also have
fiber, which is a great way to keep our gut healthy. Fruit is also beneficial because it contains antioxidants, the chemicals that create their colors: the greens, oranges, purples and reds. All these chemicals help fight off disease and strengthen our immune system.
Whole grains are good because they are full of nutrients that are healthy for normal body processes. They also contain tons of fiber, which has many good factors: regulating bowel function, preventing constipation, keeping us fuller longer and helping to fight obesity.
Low-fat dairy products are good foods because they have calcium, which has been shown to help reduce your risk of colon cancer. They also have vitamin D, which may reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Dairy products also have probiotics, which are healthy gut bacteria that help decrease bad bacteria in the gut and help fight intestinal diseases. Probiotics are found in fermented dairy products like yogurt.
Why is fiber so important for GI health?Fiber does a couple of things that are beneficial to the gut and our overall health. First of all, fiber-rich foods are low in fat, low in cholesterol and low in calories, so they help fight off obesity, a major risk factor for some cancers. We recommend 25 g to 35 g of fiber a day.
Stool in the GI tract is full of bad bacteria and carcinogens. When you have constipation, these carcinogens interact with our cells lining the gut longer than they should. What fiber does is help to bulk up stool and decrease constipation, which moves stool quickly through the GI tract limiting contact with intestinal cells.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water, so it actually collects water as it moves through the GI tract, helping to bulk up the stool. Soluble fiber has also been found to reduce cholesterol levels and, in doing that, may help to reduce your colon cancer risk. Additionally, soluble fiber pulls bile acids, the end result of the metabolism of fatty acids and cholesterol, out of our system. Since bile acids are cancer promoters, getting rid of them reduces your risk of colon cancer.
Insoluble fiber is not soluble in water, so it helps to speed up transit time in the gut, making things move faster. In doing that, it gets rid of any carcinogens so they don''t sit in our gut for long periods of time.
Is water a big factor in GI health?Water is something that we don''t always think about, but if you think fiber, you have to think water. Because fiber is great for fighting constipation, but it actually can cause constipation if there isn''t enough water in the system.
What foods are bad for GI health?Risk factors for colon cancer would be a diet that is high in red meat, sugar and saturated fats, but low in fruits and vegetables and low in fiber. The worst thing to eat is red meat. I can''t think of one healthy thing about red meat; it''s high in saturated fat and numerous studies have shown that high intake of red meat is directly related to colon cancer risk. Saturated fat tends to increase tumor growth in the large intestines. Also, when red meat is cooked, especially over an open flame, certain chemicals form on the outside. These chemicals are carcinogens, which sit in our colon and promote cancer growth.