How to prevent colon cancer

How to Prevent Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is one of the leading deaths in the world, and it should be a concern of yours. Beyond just seeing a GI doctor in Queens and getting a colonoscopy after you reach 50, there are a few other things you can do in order to lower the risk or keep it away completely. Below, you will find a few of those tips and pieces of advice, heck, you might even see some that your doctor has already suggested to you.

Take Occasional Aspirin Believe it or not, but NSAIDS such as aspirin can actually reduce colon cancer. However, it’s important that you don't do this every single day because it can cause bleeding ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding which will lead to other health issues. Instead, take one every week or every other week. You may have heard about aspirin in terms of heart attacks, and this also helps those as well, but this is either Bayer or baby aspirin - not as strong or as high of a dosage as regular aspirin.

Stop Smoking!

Sorry folks, I know how addicting cigarettes can be for some reason, but not only can smoking cause lung cancer and heart attacks, but it can also cause colon cancer. As if the first two weren't enough! According to a study done, people that smoke are 18% more likely than people who don't smoke to get colon cancer and they are 25% more likely to die from colon cancer than nonsmokers.

Also, another study done in 2009 by the American Cancer Society said that "people who had smoked for at least 40 years, or who didn't quit before they hit age 40, were 30% to 50% more likely to develop colon or rectal cancer than nonsmokers." If you're addicted, there is help available to you, check out this website for more information, support, groups and products to stop smoking: http://smokefree.gov/

SmokefreeTXT: A mobile text messaging service designed for adults and young adults across the United States who are trying to quit smoking.

Quit Smoking Apps: Mobile phone applications can help you prepare to quit, provide support, and track your progress.

Avoiding Red Meat Another difficult move for meat lovers, but there is something about red meat that can actually be dangerous to your intestines. There have been a few dozen research studies and surveys done on the consumption of red meat and colon cancer, as well as other meats such as hot dogs, beef jerky, bacon, and sausages. If you really love meat and you cannot live without it, you can eat it, but you have to limit yourself. That means no more 44oz prime rib once a week, or hot dogs every other Friday at the ball game. Instead, eat only 4 oz. per weekx2 and don't grill it with charcoal. Instead cook it in a pan.

Eat Black Raspberries This one doesn't have rock hard evidence, but research says that in early stages of lab tested mice, that black raspberries have actually reduced colon cancer in these mice.

Obviously mice are much different than we are, but hey, research is research and blackberries and raspberries are delicious so even if you can include them in your yogurt in the morning with a few blueberries - which are also incredibly healthy, it could lead to a reduced risk of colon cancer.

Green Tea Consumption A study was done in 2011 among Chinese men, out of the men that were in the study, 54% of them had lower incidences of colon cancer from those who drank green tea, than those who did not. Green tea is also in studies where they are trying to figure out if green tea can also help with other forms of cancer like lung cancer, but the jury is still out on these other cancers. Honestly though, like with the berries above, green tea is delicious, a

nice way to relax and it’s easy to make, so adding it to your everyday diet is easy to do, and delicious - just leave the sugar out!

Hopefully, some or all of these tips are ones that you start using today. Cancer, in general, is a horrible health issue across the world, and unfortunately in a lot of cases when you get a rare form of cancer or it progresses quickly, it’s quite difficult to stop it, even with surgery. If you enjoy life, or you just want to live for a long time - consider the above tips and add them to your daily life.