Colon Cancer – Are You at Risk?
By Simone Travis at 16 June, 2009
Cancer is probably the most dreaded disease right now. In fact, in the United States, cancer is one of the leading causes of death accounting to about 23%, just next to heart diseases.
One of the rising forms of cancer right now is colon cancer. According to statistics, colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the US. According to health experts, the lifestyle and diet of a person is the main contributor in the development of the disease. If a person wants to decrease his risk of acquiring the disease, he should practice a healthy lifestyle.
According to a nutritionist, about seventy percent of all colon cancer in America could have been prevented if only there was a change in their diet. A study was done focusing on the relationship of soy intake and the development of cancer in lab animals. The result showed that there is a significant decrease of chemicals which stimulate colon cancer when those animals were fed soy protein and different soy flours. It was found that soy contains phytochemical called glucosylceramide which helped a lot in reducing the growth of cancerous tumors in the colon.
Moreover, they found out that soy foods also contain a variety of compounds that help in reducing the risk of colon cancer. Some of these beneficial compounds include isoflavones, compounds that look like estrogen. This means that an increase in hormone level decreases the risk of developing colon cancer.
Another compound found to be effective in preventing colon cancer is fiber. Soy foods are known to have high contents of fiber. The truth is soybeans contain more fiber than any other type of plants. Fiber is very important as it helps in maintaining our digestive system healthy. Fiber also cleans and regulates our intestinal track.
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