Experts Say Doing This 1 Thing Can Lower Your Risk Of Colon Cancer — And It’s Easier Than You Think
HuffPost
This specific type of cancer is on the rise in people 50 and younger in the U.S. — but there’s hope.
Dense bean salads, which use beans as a salad base instead of lettuce, are all the rage on social media for good reason. The beans, along with the fresh veggies in the dish, help you reach your daily fiber goal, a number that experts say most Americans don’t hit, which isn’t good. Eating enough fiber is a crucial way to reduce your risk of colon cancer, a type of cancer that’s on the rise in people 50 and younger in the US.
(It’s recommended that women eat roughly 25 grams of fiber each day while men consume about 38 grams, but most adults eat roughly 10 grams of fiber each day.)
Decades ago, researchers found that people in Uganda had very low rates of colon cancer when compared to Americans because of their diet, which was high in fiber — veggies, fruits and grains — and low in meat, said Dr. Ron Quinton, the medical director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans. Specifically, colon cancer occurred at a rate of 3.5 out of 100,000 in men in Uganda compared to 51.8 out of 100,000 in men in Connecticut.
“And I think that’s the first time that it was really noticed that this was a prevention for colon cancer,” noted Quinton. Meaning, it’s really important to prioritize your fiber consumption.
There are multiple ways that fiber benefits colon health and even more ways to reach the daily recommended amount. Here’s what experts say:
