Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in New Zealand and on a world ranking we’re way up there. Around 2500 New Zealanders develop bowel cancer each year and about 1000 die.

Considering there are just over 4 million of us, it’s pretty high. Bowel cancer is not so common in Maori people but those who do develop it are less likely to be diagnosed and therefore more likely to die.

Bowel cancers begin as polyps. As you can see in the picture, taken at virtual colonoscopy, these are small growths that can enlarge within your bowel on a stalk. As they grow bigger, the more chance there is of one of these turning into a killer -  a malignant cancer.

Bowel cancer is more common as you age but it’s never too early to get into healthy habits to cut your risk. Here’s the top 4 ways…

1. Physical activity
2. Fibre especially from wholegrains and fruit
3. Garlic
4. Calcium – have some low fat milk and yoghurt each day

From a diet perspective, here are the top 4 ways to increase your risk of bowel cancer?

1. Obesity, especially around the stomach
2. Processed meat such as sausages and salami
3. Red meat – it’s great for iron and zinc but keep it to less than 500 grams a week
4. Alcohol

1. Yoghurt – ideally plain, reduced fat and as fresh as possible

‘Friendly’ bugs to help digestion, and calcium to keep bones strong and blood pressure down.

2. Fish, especially salmon and tuna

Vitamin B12 and Omega-3 fats for healthy blood, joints and eyes. People who eat fish at least once a week have a much lower risk of age-related macular degeneration. Omega-3 fats from canola oil, flaxseed and walnuts, as well as monounsaturated fats from avocado and olive oil also seem to reduce the risk (Arch Opthalmol, 2006).

3. Nuts

Fibre, unsaturated fat and vitamin E for a healthy heart, digestive system and eyes (walnuts)

4. Avocado

Monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, folate and vitamin B6 for a healthy heart, brain, immune system and eyes

5. Rolled oats

Soluble fibre & resistant starch for a healthy bowel and to reduce cholesterol, plus zinc, iron, potassium, vitamin E

6. Green tea

Less caffeine and lots of antioxidants

7. Legumes – dried beans, baked beans, split peas, lentils

Soluble fibre and resistant starch for a healthy bowel, lower cholesterol and weight control

8. The ‘Greens’ – spinach, silverbeet, Asian greens, broccoli

Vitamin A, C, K, folate and antioxidants

9. Berries

Vitamin C and antioxidants

10. Oranges, lemons and grapefruit (marmalade doesn’t count!)

Vitamin C and antioxidants

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

People who eat a Mediterranean-style diet with lots of vegetables, legumes, fruit, fish, wholegrains and monounsaturated fat (mostly olive oil) with some yoghurt, cheese and wine seem to live longer (BMJ, 2005)

… continued from part 4 … “Talk to five people a day!” The former head of Neurology at Auckland Hospital and my good friend, Sharon, were chatting over dinner as he described how social contact was just as important for healthy aging as eating at least five fruit and vegetables a day.

Food and exercise are just part of healthy aging. Our interaction with others and how we feel about life also affects health. As the proverb goes: ‘A heart at peace gives life to the body.’ Fruit and vegetables may boost your immune system but so does being happily married. On the other hand, if your wife or husband has just died, all the fruit and veges in the world won’t stop the grief, loneliness and resulting stress on the body. A British study of people over 65 found that those who were single, divorced or widowed had lower antibodies than those who were happily married. The UCLA School of Medicine found that people had a stronger immune system when they had more social contacts.

So get out of the house, talk to the mail-man, the garbage man, the shop assistant. Be interested in their lives. Join a club, get involved with your marae, volunteer to help in the community or invite friends and neighbours for dinner. If you can’t cook, eat out (and bring the leftovers home), buy takeaways or make it ‘pot-luck’ where the guests bring food. If you are young and have elderly friends or neighbours invite them for a meal – not just for the food but for the social contact. And try to have a laugh – it boosts the immune system. One elderly author, himself in his eighties, told some nursing home residents, “If you can’t find anything to laugh about, take all your clothes off and look in the mirror. That should keep you laughing all day!”

Like a good wine or cheese, in many ways we improve with age. Youth may bring vim and vigour but with maturity comes depth and wisdom. Healthy aging is all about feeding and exercising our body, mind and spirit with the nutrients it needs from food, social contact, learning new things, prayer, laughter and thinking outwards. As Abraham Lincoln once said: “It’s not the years in your life that counts. It’s the life in your years.”  ..c

Related posts:

• part 1
• part 2
• part 3
• part 4
  

… continued from part 3 … Move your body

As we age we lose muscle which makes us less steady on our feet and more likely to fall. It can be a vicious cycle: you fall – you’re afraid of falling again so you’re less active – you lose muscle strength so you’re more likely to fall.

Less muscle also reduces our basal metabolic rate (BMR) – the rate we burn energy. The lower the BMR, the easier it is to gain fat. And the fat tends to go on around our stomach and internal organs, increasing the risk of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Not to mention ruining the look of our best clothes! We tend to accept this as a normal part of aging but researchers have observed that people who keep vigorously active throughout their life have a similar body composition and physiological function to younger adults. Even if you have been a couch potato, all is not lost. One study found that while people who had been physically active all their lives were about 60% less likely to have heart disease, even those lazy-bones who didn’t start serious exercise until after age 40 still had 55% less risk than those who stayed stuck in front of the television!

Regular exercise such as walking from the far side of the car park to the shops, taking the stairs instead of the lift, cycling with the grandchildren, swimming, dancing, golf, pilates and gardening have fantastic anti-aging effects. It helps reduce high blood pressure, increases the good HDL cholesterol that takes fat away from the arteries, gets the bowel moving, keeps joints mobile which helps with arthritis, keeps calcium in the bones so they stay strong, keeps muscles strong so you are less likely to fall, allows you to enjoy more food without gaining weight and gives a boost of endorphins – the body’s natural mood improver.

Be careful about the supplements you take

As our activity slows with age, we need less food but just as many nutrients – sometimes more. As well as vitamin D and B12, the B vitamins, especially B6 and folate are vital for a healthy brain, heart and immune system. Older people can also be low in calcium, zinc, potassium and magnesium.

Does this mean we need to rush for the supplements? It’s true that we need higher levels of nutrients to protect against degenerative conditions and disease than to simply avoid a deficiency. But food is always better and safer than a pill. Food provides all the nutrients we need – the ones we have discovered and those we don’t yet know about – in the perfect package for peak absorption. Supplements are sometimes in a different form from what occurs naturally so may not be as effective. Large doses of vitamins, minerals and so-called ‘natural’ herbal remedies can have potent, drug-like effects, especially in older bodies which are less able to handle it. They can also interfere with medication. For example, taking fish oil or high doses of vitamin E (over 400 IU) with aspirin or warfarin may cause excessive bleeding as they both reduce clotting. Taking just one vitamin or mineral can cause a deficiency in another e.g. zinc and copper. A multivitamin minimises this risk and many people take one as a form of nutritional insurance. But popping a multi-vitamin with your hot chips and jam sandwich doesn’t make a balanced diet!

An expert panel, set up by the National Institutes of Health, analyzed the research and concluded that there was a proven health benefit of supplements in just three cases: calcium and vitamin D to reduce bone fractures in post-menopausal women; vitamins C, E, beta-carotene, zinc and copper to reduce the risk of blindness in people with early signs of macular degeneration; and folic acid to prevent birth defects (not usually an issue for the over-65’s!)

Always let your doctor know if you are taking nutritional supplements, especially if you are on medication

… one more in this series tommorrow …