Prevention is the name of the game when it comes to good health. And nutrition is the probably the most influential part of prevention (we do eat 3 times or more per day!?), which is why we recommend adding Juice Plus+® as a daily supplement. However, according to the CDC, the to four most common cancers based on occurrence are: Prostate (men), Breast (female), Lung, then colorectal (or 'colon') cancer. Based on these statistics the two common to both sexes are lung and colon cancer.
What must be learned here is that colon cancer can be prevented and even treated if any benign warning signs appear. Understand, though, that there more often than not are no symptoms when those warning signs, i.e. polyps, are present. We know that diet is one factor in helping with prevention, including a diet that is high in fiber. Fruits and vegetables contain good amounts of fiber (especially vegetables), and nutrients that are important antioxidants. Both will support a healthy colon and help prevent ailments and conditions from occurring. (Juice Plus+® provides added nutrients from a variety of those foods). Here are some other risk factors --
- Family history of colon cancer and colon polyps. You're more likely to develop colon cancer if you have a parent, sibling or child with the disease. If more than one family member has colon cancer or rectal cancer, your risk is even greater. In some cases, this connection may not be hereditary or genetic. Instead, cancers within the same family may result from shared exposure to an environmental carcinogen or from diet or lifestyle factors.
- Low-fiber, high-fat diet. Colon cancer and rectal cancer may be associated with a diet low in fiber and high in fat and calories. Research in this area has had mixed results. Some studies have found an increased risk of colon cancer in people who eat diets high in red meat and processed meats.
- A sedentary lifestyle. If you're inactive, you're more likely to develop colon cancer. Getting regular physical activity may reduce your risk of colon cancer.
- Diabetes. People with diabetes and insulin resistance may have an increased risk of colon cancer.
- Obesity. People who are obese have an increased risk of colon cancer and an increased risk of dying of colon cancer when compared with people considered normal weight.
We can't ignore the simplest checkup that could add years to our life and life to our years, considering how common colon cancer is. But too many people are missing what is an easy procedure (and not expensive!...or at least shouldn't be!) that could prevent or handle the problem before it gets bad. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Even the economics of it works out in your favor. Here's more from FoxNews --
Nearly half the people who need potentially lifesaving checks for the nation’s second-highest cause of cancer deaths - colorectal cancer - miss them, despite years of public efforts to make colon screening as widespread as tests for breast and prostate cancer. The dreaded colonoscopy may get the most attention but a cheap, at-home stool test works, too - and when California health care provider Kaiser Permanente started mailing those test kits to patients due for a colon check, its screening rates jumped well above the national average.
Now specialists are looking to Kaiser and the Veterans Affairs health system, which also stresses stool tests, for clues to what might encourage more people to get screened. Colorectal cancer can be prevented, not just treated, if only early signs of trouble are spotted in time.
“By overselling and overpromising colonoscopies, we’ve put up barriers for people’’ to get any type of screening, said Dr. T.R. Levin, Kaiser Permanente’s colorectal cancer screening chief in northern California.
Everyone is supposed to get screened for colorectal cancer starting at age 50, but US data show just 55 percent do. That’s better than a decade ago when screening rates hovered below 30 percent, and new cases and deaths have dropped as a result.
But about 150,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, and nearly 50,000 die. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says screening could eliminate many new cases because regular colon checks can remove precancerous growths called polyps before the cancer has time to form. (source...)
Bottom Line: There is no better prevention than a healthy diet, and overall, a healthy lifestyle. Avoiding the unhealthy things is just as important as getting the healthy things like fruits and vegetables for our diet. Don't wait, start today.
The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC
Official Juice Plus+® Independent Distributor
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