It's no surprise that eating right can put you on track for good health. Some argue that a nutritious diet can even lower your risk of certain cancers, though the relationship between eating habits and cancer is not fully clear. For example, while some studies have shown that diet has no significant influence on colorectal cancer risk, other studies have demonstrated that particular foods can have an impact.
No matter which cancer studies are correct, a well-balanced diet can only improve your overall gastrointestinal (GI) health. And if refurbishing your diet decreases your risk of colorectal cancer, so much the better. Lynn Goldstein, a registered dietitian and nutritional educator at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City, explains how to make the most of your munching.
What role does diet play in cancer prevention?
It was never originally thought that diet had a significant impact on cancer, but it actually may play a role in many cancers, particularly in gastrointestinal cancers. In 1997, the American Institute for Cancer Research took about 4,500 different studies that focused on food and nutrition from around the world. They found that up to 75 percent of all GI cancers could actually be prevented through appropriate diet and nutrition.
What is preventative eating?
When I say "preventative eating," I really mean choosing or excluding specific foods that may affect your risk of cancer. There are so many factors in cancer risk that we can't control, like age, genetics or the environment. But we can control what we put into our mouths.
What are the ingredients in a gut-friendly diet?
Whole grains are good because they are full of vital nutrients. One of these is fiber, which helps regulate bowel function, prevent constipation and keep us fuller longer.
Low-fat dairy products are good foods because they have calcium and vitamin D, both of which have been shown in some studies to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Fermented dairy products, like yogurt, also have probiotics, which are healthy gut bacteria that help fight intestinal diseases by decreasing any bad bacteria that try to take up residence in the gut
Health
Fruits and vegetables have almost all of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function. They strengthen our immune system and give us energy. Fruit contains antioxidants, the chemicals that create their colors, which help fight off disease. Leafy green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce are rich in folate, a B vitamin that has been shown to protect against colorectal cancer. Fruits and vegetables also have fiber, which is a great way to keep our gut healthy by flushing out the toxic material in our stool.
Why is fiber so important for GI health?
Fiber does a couple of things that are great for the gut and overall health. First of all, fiber-rich foods are usually low in fat, cholesterol and calories, so they help fight off obesity, a major risk factor for some cancers. Most people get less than 20 grams of fiber a day, but we recommend 25 to 35 grams per day.
Stool in the GI tract is full of bad bacteria and carcinogens. When you have constipation, these carcinogens interact with the cells lining the gut longer than they should. What fiber does is help to bulk up stool, which helps move it quickly through the GI tract, limiting contact with intestinal cells.
Will any type of fiber work?
There are two kinds of fiber: insoluble and soluble fiber. They both have distinctly different roles but are both beneficial. However, food labels may not distinguish between insoluble and soluble fiber, even though most foods contain a mixture of the two.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water, so it actually collects water as it moves through the GI tract, helping to bulk up the stool. Soluble fiber has also been found to reduce cholesterol levels and, in doing that, may help to reduce your colon cancer risk. Additionally, soluble fiber pulls bile acids out of our system. Bile, secreted from the liver, helps the body digest food, especially foods high in fat. Since bile acids are cancer promoters, getting rid of them quickly may reduce your risk of colon cancer. You can find soluble fiber in fruits, like apples, pears, berries and oranges, as well as oats and beans.
Insoluble fiber is not soluble in water, so it helps to speed up the stool's transit time in the gut. By making things move faster, it gets rid of any carcinogens so they don't sit in the gut for long periods of time. Brown rice, multigrain products and vegetables are great sources of insoluble fiber.
Is water a big factor in GI health?
Water is something that we don't always think about, but if you think fiber, you have to think water. Fiber is great for fighting constipation, but can actually cause constipation if there isn't enough water to help the stool move through GI tract.
What foods are bad for GI health?
Risk factors for colon cancer would be a diet that is high in red meat, sugar and saturated fats, and low in fruits, vegetables and fiber. Perhaps the worst thing to eat is red meat; numerous studies have linked red and processed meats to an elevated risk of colon cancer. Red meat tends to be high in saturated fat, which may promote tumor growth in the large intestines. Also, cooking meat, especially over an open flame, produces certain compounds, such as heterocyclic amines, that have been tied to cancer.
What advice do you have for people trying to eat well for GI health?
All it takes is small steps, little changes here and there. Make sure you get enough fruits and vegetables. I usually tell people to have a fruit or a vegetable with every meal and snack, just to get in the habit.
Start your day with a fiber-rich cereal. Replace all your grain products made from white flour with whole grains, so you're eating whole-grain bread and whole-wheat pasta, for example. Have a minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and fill out your diet with legumes beans and peas and a moderate amount of nuts and seeds. If you have all these foods in your diet, you'll pretty much be guaranteed to get all the fiber that your body needs. Also, make sure that you're getting enough water by carrying a water bottle with you throughout the day.
It's a choice. It's a decision to put certain foods in our system. It just takes a little more effort and little more thought than running out to a fast-food restaurant and grabbing a burger. Everybody should be on a gut-friendly diet. It's just a healthy way to live. It's not just good for GI cancer, but also for diabetes, heart disease and obesity. It's a balanced, healthy diet that gives your body everything it needs.
