Colon Cancer Diet

When it comes to colon cancer diet, there are two diets that matter. One is the diet to prevent colon cancer, and the second is the diet that people eat when they have colon cancer. However, in a world where prevention is always the best form of treatment, let us focus on the diet that can prevent colon cancer.

Many have always believed that the food one eats can cause cancer. Rightly so since the food we eat goes to the colon as soon as it is digested. As expected, the food remnants will produce certain effects to its surroundings.

So what should you include in a preventive colon cancer diet?

Fiber

Fiber can help prevent colon cancer in a variety of ways. First, it can help loosen the stool making it easier to evacuate. Also, by making the stool easy to remove, it also prevents the stool and other food debris from staying longer in the colon. There are a lot of sources for fiber. Eating whole wheat grain is just one of them. Eating vegetables and fruits is another.

Fruits

Fruits contain a lot of vitamins, minerals, sugars, and enzymes that the body needs. It should be noted though that not all fruits contain the same amount of things that other fruits have. For example, some fruits may have high levels of vitamin C while others have it in tiny amounts.

In a preventive colon cancer diet, it is said that a person must eat at least 5 servings of fruits per day. One of the rationales behind this is to have the necessary things such as the vitamins and minerals that fruits contain. Another thing with fruits is that they have high amounts of fiber making them ease and hasten your bowel movements.

Protein

The main function of protein is acting as the building block of cells. Through it, cells are made as well as repaired. Rightly so, when a person has low levels of protein in the body, the probability of cells mutating to make up of the deficiency increases greatly.

There are two kinds of protein: the essential and non essential proteins. Essential proteins contain the complete list of amino acids that the body needs. The thing is, this kind of protein is the kind that the body does not synthesize. In order to get the needed amino acids, foods such as lean meat and milk are recommended.

Folate

Colon cancer diet should necessarily contain Folate. Folate is a vitamin that plays a major role in DNA and RNA synthesis. By having adequate amounts of folate, the body is able to repair the damaged cells. It is understandable that when a person has a deficiency of this vitamin, it will lead to abnormalities in the DNA making it at greater risk for developing cancer.

People can get adequate amounts of folate thru diet. Since it is not a vitamin that the body can make on its own, people need to include it in the food that they eat. Green leafy vegetables are the main sources of this vitamin. Two very good examples are broccoli and spinach. Fruits such as cantaloupe are variations or substitute for vegetables.

Selenium

Of all the antioxidants that are said to help prevent colon cancer, selenium is the one that has shown a lot of proof that it does what it claims to do. A certain study has found out that people who have adequate amounts of selenium each day have a 25% decreased incidence of developing colon cancer. If you have to take supplements for selenium, you have to know that the recommended dose is 200 micrograms per day. The upper limit of the dose is 400 micrograms per day. This should not be exceeded since over dose of selenium, or having it in excess, can produce undesirable results.

Complex sugars You may or may not have heard about this but complex sugars, or carbohydrates, can help prevent cancer. This is because when complex sugars are present in the body, bacteria that are already present there will make use of the undigested sugar to produce short chain fatty acids and essential vitamins such as folate.

Short chain fatty acids act by providing energy to make the colon healthy and strong. Along with folate, it also helps in the regulation of the cell division, growth, and differentiation.

By eating the right kinds of food, it is no surprise that even colon cancer will be just a possibility with very slim chance of becoming a reality.

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