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Cancerous colon: Guard against it

Colon cancer

A few decades ago, man was affected by the deathly disease called cancer. In those early days, the only kind of cancer known to man was that affecting the blood cells and probably the one in brain. Now after so many years, man’s lifestyle has deteriorated progressively in the unhealthy lane and all those cancers that doctors only studied about in the books are coming alive in the human body. Colon cancer is one such cancer. It is the fourth leading cancer in females and third leading cancer in males. Colon cancer, however, can be usually due to a pattern of lifestyle and with a change in lifestyle, one can ensure that this cancer avoids us.

The main cause of colon cancer is believed to be a high fat diet. It has also been proven that lack of proper sleeping pattern can cause colon cancer. There are a number of ways in which one can know whether they might be susceptible to colon cancer. The first sign is of course a high fat diet. Certain fat on digestion releases carcinogens or chemicals that cause cancer. If a person is anemic for a prolonged period of time, it could be due to colon cancer too. If there is bowel obstruction, then that too could be an indication of colon cancer. The symptoms could be weakness, fatigue, constipation, diarrhea or blood in stools. It is very easy to adopt a lifestyle that can prevent colon cancer. We have some tips for you that can keep colon cancer at bay.

1. Eat a lot of vegetables

Vegetable diet

We all know how important vegetables are in a good balanced diet. However, few of us actually put this to practice. According to research, eating a lot of vegetables can reduce the risk of colon cancer by about 50%. Though the idea of vegetables is highly unappetizing, you can make it healthier. Try making different dishes every day. It could be a salad one day, a vegetable soup on another or a simple vegetable dressing on your toast. Try making the vegetables your main dish and renegade the meat to the side.

2. Take off the high fat

High fat food

Adding vegetables automatically means that you have to remove the high fatty food in your meals. There is no getting around it. One of the main causes of colon cancer is fatty foods and you have to get rid of them. So this means no more sausages or bacons. These fats have nitrogen that has been proven to be carcinogens.

3. Take selenium

Selenium

It has been proven that the mineral selenium can prevent the occurrence of colon cancer. Foods that are rich in selenium are lean chicken, Brazil nuts, Brown rice and walnuts. Lean chicken is especially believed to be very effective in reducing the incidence of colon cancer. However, it is preferable to go for vegetarian sources of selenium as it is proven that vegetarian food is preferred in order to avoid colon cancer.

4. Fiber filled food

Fibrous foods

We have heard of the importance of fiber in digestion. Fiber helps in bowel movement, which means that all those toxins that are released from digesting food are moved along in the bowel and excreted before they can cause harm to the body. Fibrous food is very essential for enhancing digestion especially in the last steps. Make sure that you add enough fiber to your diet every day. You can have some beans in your soup or salad, boiled peas or have a tasty broccoli soup every day.

5. Spice up your eating life

Turmeric has added spice to so many dishes in India and the world is now recognizing the virtues of this spice. For a long time, studies had shown that people who use turmeric have low incidences of colon cancer. Now scientists have caught up with the evidence and have proven that turmeric contains the compound curcumin. Curcumin kills the bacteria H. pylori. This bacteria has been related to ulcers and cancer of the colon. Therefore, curcumin indirectly prevents the occurrence of ulcerative colonitis and in turn colon cancer. So, the next time you eat out, take some spicy food and make sure that it contains turmeric.

6. Magical magnesium

Magnesium rich foods

Magnesium is a very important mineral and researchers have found that it can reduce the incidence of colon cancer by forty percent. However, more than eighty percent of the people lack this mineral. Raw almonds, sunflower oil, figs are all rich in Magnesium.

There are a lot of cancers out there. Fortunately a lot of them are preventable by merely changing the lifestyle. With the right kind of lifestyle and food habits man can avoid a lot of diseases and live healthily forever.

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