Diet
Diet is an important factor and eating too much red and processed meat and consuming large amounts of sugary drinks or highly refined processed carbohydrates in particular increases your risk.
It is estimated that around 13 out of 100 cases of bowel cancer in Britain are linked to eating too much red and processed meat, such as bacon, salami, sausages, tinned meat or chicken nuggets, as these contain chemicals called chemicals. nitrosamines.
The government recommends that people who eat more than 90 grams of red and processed meat per day should reduce this to 70 grams or less.
It may help to swap red meat for chicken or fish. Eating more fiber also reduces the risk of colon cancer. Eating too little fiber causes around 30 in 100 cases of bowel cancer in Britain.
You can boost the fiber in your diet by eating more plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, switching to brown rice, using low-calorie popcorn instead of chips and choosing whole-grain breakfast cereals .
Being overweight and obese
Obesity is a cause of colon cancer. It is estimated that 11 in 100 cases of bowel cancer in Britain are linked to being overweight or obese.
Overweight means a BMI between 25 and 30 and obese is a BMI of 30 or higher. Being physically active and eating a healthy, balanced diet is important. There is strong evidence that people who are more physically active have a lower risk of colon cancer.
A recent study found that being more active in the morning and evening could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 11 percent and suggested that the time of peak activity could play a ‘critical role’ in warding off the disease.
Smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol
Seven out of 100 bowel cancers in Britain are linked to smoking and it is estimated that around six out of 100 bowel cancers in Britain are linked to drinking alcohol, especially binge drinking.
Alcohol increases the risk of cancer because, when metabolized, it is broken down into chemicals that can bind to DNA, resulting in mutations that can become cancerous.
Alcohol can also increase the levels of hormones linked to the development of some types of breast cancer. In general, the more alcoholic beverages a person drinks, the greater the risk of developing one of the associated cancers.
Family history
Your risk of colon cancer is slightly increased if an immediate family member, such as a parent, brother or sister, son or daughter, has had the disease.
In 5-6 percent of cases there is a genetic predisposition and there are probably other cases in the family. The risk is further increased if more than one family member is diagnosed, or if an immediate family member is diagnosed at a young age, such as under 45 years of age.
There are also some rare hereditary or genetic conditions that may increase your risk. The most common hereditary conditions that cause colon cancer are: familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and Lynch syndrome. Specialists recommend that people with FAP undergo intestinal surgery in their 20s. The surgeon usually removes the colon to prevent the development of colon cancer.
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are chronic intestinal diseases that cause inflammation in the intestine. If you have one of these diseases for years, you increase your risk of colon cancer.