Experts say one food type can help reduce your risk of bowel cancer
As bowel cancer cases continue to rise across the world, experts have said that one type of food is key to helping you reduce the risk.
Cancer is something that has proven it can strike at any time in any person, and bowel cancer is now the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK, as well as the fourth most common cancer, with almost 44,000 people being diagnosed in the UK (via Bowel Cancer UK).
Sadly, one reason behind the increase in mortality rate is that it can often be mistaken for another illness, such as IBS or digestive troubles.
It has long been established that what we eat has a crucial impact on our body's health, but it will take more than an apple a day to help reduce the risk of bowel cancer.
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However, since apples are an excellent source of dietary fibre, they are one of many foods with the fibre food type, which experts at Cancer Research UK reckon might just be key to keeping your bowels healthy.
Experts are certain that a high-fibre diet, including plenty of wholegrains, can help lower the risk of bowel cancer, which means we should all be implementing foods such as wholegrain pasta and bread, fruit, vegetables, beans and lentils into our meal plans.
As Scrubs may have taught you, everything comes down to our poo, and a diet high in fibre is the best way to keep things ticking down there.
Fibre helps us poo more often and also reduces the harmful chemicals in our bowel, which in turn helps the cells in our bowel stay healthier and lowers the chances of tumours developing. It's often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that a high-fibre one is even better, as it helps us feel full for longer.
Cancer Research UK says that the government-recommended amount of fibre is 30mg each day, and there are plenty of ways to increase your intake.
Other high-fibre foods include parsnips, peas, broccoli, baked potato with skin, reduced-sugar and reduced-salt baked beans, and unsalted nuts and seeds.
Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek became the latest high-profile celebrity to sadly die from the disease this week, having first announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in November 2024.
"I’d always associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles," he told People at the time. "But I was in amazing cardiovascular shape.
"I tried to eat healthy- or as far as I knew it at the time. I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee, or maybe not put cream in the coffee. But when I cut that out and it didn’t improve, I thought, ‘All right, I better get this checked out'."
The likes of Chadwick Boseman and Pelé have also died following diagnoses with colon cancer in recent years. And, according to her death certificate, Catherine O'Hara was receiving rectal cancer treatment before dying of a pulmonary embolism.
Meanwhile, the UK health security agency also recommends several other ways of reducing the risk of bowel cancer, including eating less processed and red meat, staying hydrated, exercising, stopping smoking and limiting alcohol intake.
Topics: Bowel cancer, Health
James Moorhouse