Study finds that diet, exercise slashes colon cancer death risk

A 3-step plan to survive and thrive after colon cancer!

The good news where colon cancer is concerned is that researchers have discovered what they’re calling a “cancer-control gem.”

Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, tracked close to 1,000 patients with stage 3 colon cancer for 17 years. And what apparently made the difference between life and death was something amazingly simple with a tremendous impact.

What was revealed wasn’t some treatment in a foreign country or a mysterious compound that could be risky. It was an approach that’s available to all of us.

The even better news is that you can take these findings a step further, putting into action some of the latest discoveries on how not only to prevent a return of this deadly cancer, but perhaps how to avoid being diagnosed with it in the first place!

Let food be thy medicine

It’s no secret now that diet and exercise can improve your health.

But what those UC researchers turned up is a powerful reminder that the advantages of eating better and staying as fit as possible are even more mighty than you could have ever imagined.

In other words, these are more than just good ideas – they’re fundamental to protecting your health, especially if you’ve been diagnosed with cancer.

Lead researcher Dr. Erin Van Blarigan called the benefits “on par with what you might expect from an invasive treatment, if not larger.”

During the course of the study, 335 patients saw a return of their colon cancer, and 299 died. But those who not only survived, but thrived, all had three basic things in common:

#1 They ate five to six servings of fruits and veggies every day.

#2 They exercised for at least 150 minutes a week.

#3 They didn’t cross over the “overweight” line into being considered “obese.”

The bottom statistical line was that those habits bestowed a 42 percent lower risk of dying during the almost-20-year study.

If it sounds too good to be true – it isn’t!

Despite the fact that we all know we should be eating better and exercising more, putting that awareness into action can easily get away from us. Sometimes, it’s easier to pop some frozen meal into the microwave rather than prepare real food… or to put your feet up and watch TV instead of putting your shoes on and heading out for a walk!

But if this research tells us anything, it’s that you will be rewarded in the health department if you make that extra effort.

And as I said, there’s more really good news where colon cancer prevention is concerned.

Last year, I told you about research that found that incorporating more nuts into your diet can not only help to prevent a return of the disease, but it can keep you from developing it in the first place!

A study released by the American Society of Clinical Oncology discovered that colon cancer patients who ate two or more ounces of nuts a week were able to lower the odds of having their cancer return by almost 50 percent!

The nuts that were found to be beneficial included tree nuts such as cashews, almonds, walnuts, and pistachios – practically all of our favorites except peanuts.

Another study, this one out of South Korea, found that if you want to do everything possible to prevent colon cancer, it looks like nuts are the answer to that as well.

By simply snacking on a small handful several times a week, men were able to lower their risk by almost 70 percent, and for women that dropped a whopping 81 percent.

And to think that for years those low-fat fanatics have been discouraging us from eating nuts because they contain high amounts of fat – which turns out to be very healthy fat!

But the UC researchers in this latest study did make a good point. Putting these benefits to work, despite how fundamentally simple they appear, can be difficult for those recovering from chemo or surgery.

That’s when you have to remember that even if you can’t meet that 150-minute weekly exercise goal, you can still try for 50 or 25. If five servings of veggies is too much to handle, have two! The point is that even if it seems impossible, you can do something.

And before long, that will morph into something more!

“Diet, exercise tied to reduced death risk in colon cancer” Kerry Dooley Young, April 18, 2018, Medscape, medscape.com