Reducing your risk of colon cancer might be as simple as eating a bowl of high-fiber cereal and skim milk for breakfast, says a large study out today.
Cancer of the colon and rectum is the second-most-lethal malignancy in the USA, accounting for about 60,000 deaths annually. Only lung cancer kills more Americans.
The new study's findings are fairly consistent with previous research about colon cancer risk factors. Though it doesn't prove that cereal fiber and non-fat dairy products protect against colon cancer, "it shows there's a strong association here," says lead author David Lieberman, chief of gastroenterology at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Ore.
Because the vast majority of study participants were men, though, the findings can't be applied to women, Lieberman's team writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association .
Lieberman and colleagues at 12 VA hospitals used colonoscopy to screen 3,121 patients between the ages of 50 and 75. None had any symptoms of digestive tract problems, but colonoscopies revealed that about 10% had advanced precancerous polyps.
Colon cancer is thought to arise from benign polyps that take years to become malignant.
By Rita Rubin
http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/USATODAY/2003/12/10/374287?extID=10037&oliID=229
High Fiber Health
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