Six Ways To Reduce Your Risk Of Bowel Cancer

Making small changes to our day-to-day lives can make a big difference to the risk of developing bowel cancer.

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1. Eat more fresh chicken, fish and meat-free meals

People who eat a diet low in processed and red meat are less likely to develop bowel cancer. Around one in five cases of bowel cancer in the UK are linked to eating too much processed and red meat.

2. Keep a healthy weight

Keeping a healthy weight not only cuts your risk of bowel cancer, but could also reduce your risk of nine other types of cancer too.

3. Eat more fibre

Eating a diet high in fibre helps reduce the risk of bowel cancer in a number of ways. And one of the main ones seems to be by helping food pass through your body more quickly.

4. Drink less alcohol

We’re not saying you have to go tee-total, but it’s important to know the less you drink the lower your risk.

5. Be smokefree

Smoking doesn’t just cause lung cancer. It causes at least 13 other types of cancer (including bowel) as well as heart disease and various lung diseases. Chemicals in cigarette smoke enter the bloodstream and can affect the entire body – and it’s these that have been shown to damage our DNA and lead to cancer.

6. Be active

Keeping active has a wide range of benefits for the body, including reducing the risk of bowel cancer. This is through helping food move through the bowel more quickly, as well as controlling inflammation.

The more active you are, the greater the benefits you can gain – but remember it’s never too late to start.

And if you notice something unusual, talk to your doctor