DIET & LIFESTYLE UPDATE
BOWEL (OR COLORECTAL) CANCER is one of the most preventable types of cancer. Scientists have established it has strong causal links to poor diet, lack of activity, obesity, smoking and alcohol, and these are all things you can control. Although you can’t alter some risk factors for bowel cancer – such as your family history, height (tall people are more likely to develop it) and having inflammatory bowel disease – you can change your diet and lifestyle.
‘Just as alcohol can cause liver disease and smoking causes lung cancer, an unhealthy lifestyle and bad diet can raise your risk of cancer, particularly bowel cancer,’ says Susannah Brown, senior scientist at the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF).