Healthy Whole Food Diet
Reduces Risk of Colorectal Cancer
Eating a healthy whole food diet is the key to long term good health.
Participating in the vitamin D revolution results in a 75 to 80 percent risk reduction for colon cancer when you maintain your blood serum levels between 68 to 103 nmol/L.[1] While supplementing with vitamin D certainly provides a dramatic risk reduction, it is NOT a 100 percent guarantee. Other lifestyle factors obviously play a role in reducing your risk of getting colon polyps, a precursor to colon cancer: Diet, Exercise, and Stress management. With long term vitamin D and lifestyle therapy the role of family history in developing colon cancer can be reduced close to zero.
Being physically active is certainly a factor that helps to prevent all forms of cancer. An effective exercise program can be as simple as walking. Consistently getting a good night's sleep is ALL the stress reduction needed. A recent study of food consumption in 2 different cohort studies helps to answer the question concerning which healthy foods everyone should be eating long term in order to prevent Colorectal cancer.[2]
It boils down to brown rice, dried fruit, legumes, and greens.
Colon Cancer Prevention -- Cooking Brown Rice with Rice Cooker
The biggest risk reduction is provided by eating a serving of brown rice at least once a week, which reduces the risk by 40%. Eating freshly cooked rice regularly is fairly easy to do with any number of rice cooking gadgets. Any left over rice can be stored in a sealed plastic container in your refrigerator.
The fourth food group of the Mediterranean diet or legumes (i.e., beans without pods, peas and lentils) an excellent source of fiber at least three times a week, reduced the risk by 33% after adjusting for meat intake. Salt free canned beans can easily meet this health requirement.
Eating dried fruit three times or more a week, compared to less than once a week, was associated with a 26 percent reduced risk. Raisins and some of the more exotic fruits like papaya and mango come to my mind. Drying fruit is an ancient method of food preservation which according to this study, at least, can be good for your colon health.
Eating cooked greens once a day or more, such as mustard / turnip / collard greens, spinach, or kale, was associated with a 24 percent reduced risk. Greens are a bit of an acquired taste. But if you mixed them into other food items, such as rice, you wont even realize that you are eating them.
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References:
- Serum
25-hydroxyvitamin D and colon cancer: eight-year prospective study.
Garland CF, Comstock GW, Garland FC,...
Lancet. 1989 Nov 18;2(8673):1176-8.
PMID: 2572900 - Foods and food groups associated with the incidence of colorectal polyps: the Adventist Health Study.
Tantamango YM, Knutsen SF, Beeson WL,...
Nutr Cancer. 2011 May;63(4):565-72.
PMID: 21547850
