Today, one in every five colon cancer diagnoses in the United States applies to a woman or man under the age of 55. It’s one of leading causes of death among young adults and the #1 leading cause in cancer-related deaths. Even college kids are at risk.
Researchers haven’t yet fully explained these troubling statistics. However, they believe that lifestyle factors figure strongly into the upsurge among the young. The good news is, that means you can lower your risk by changing your habits.
Our colorectal experts at Colon and Rectal Surgeons of Greater Hartford offer colon cancer screenings at our offices in Bloomfield, Hartford, Manchester, and South Windsor, Connecticut. We’re so committed to colorectal health in our community that we have Saturday clinics, too, to accommodate your busy schedules.
Although you can lower your risk for colon cancer at any age, the sooner you start, the better. Colon cancer is less treatable the longer it takes to detect. Take these steps today:
We humans evolved to move throughout the day, eat sparingly, and run quickly when hunting or being hunted. Unfortunately, as our populations became more numerous and we settled into agricultural communities, the habits that kept us alive and thriving started to dwindle.
Now we’ve created a world our ancestors wouldn’t recognize. We don’t hunt for food: We just stick our hand in a bag of chips. We don’t sprint or take breaks from eating with prolonged fasts. We drive cars and munch on snacks all day long.
While a lack of exercise and an excess of food may feel luxurious, they’re exactly the opposite of what your body needs. Living a sedentary lifestyle and driving everywhere leads to obesity, inflammation, and slowed circulation.
Both obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are associated with a higher risk for colorectal cancers. To lower your risk for colon cancer and heart disease, you need to develop a more active lifestyle. That includes actual weekly exercise, plus daily movement — multiple times a day.
Even if you do want to relax and catch up with your bingeing (TV only!; don’t binge on food!) take breaks. Pause the show. Stand up. Walk around, Your body — including your colon — will thank you.
While everyone else is focused on shrinking their waistlines or lowering the numbers on their scale, run at the head of the pack and rid yourself of the most dangerous type of fat of all: Visceral fat. Visceral fat is an insidious type of inflammatory fat that wraps itself around your organs, including your heart.
You can’t see it or pinch it. However, visceral fat has been linked to almost every disease, including colorectal cancer. In fact, you can be fit and slim and still have visceral fat.
While some visceral fat protects your organs, too much endangers them. Stressful, overly long exercise routines that trigger cortisol release and too many carbohydrates are associated with the accumulation of visceral fat.
Excess visceral fat is also strongly linked to a condition called myosteatosis, which is a fancy way of saying that you have fat in your muscles. Fatty muscles are less efficient and weaker, which is why you may have noticed your strength lessening over time.
Your eyes, your brain, your organs, and even your skin all benefit from exposure to the sun’s rays. No, that doesn’t mean you should lie out on the beach in the middle of the day without sunscreen. Skin cancer can kill you, too. But it does mean you should spend as much time as possible outdoors.
Early morning sunlight on your skin and in your eyes triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which wakes you up, and regulates melatonin, which makes you sleepy. When you open your eyes, open a window: Gaze out at the landscape.
Even better, take a walk. Starting your day with a stroll — with or without a dog — gets your body moving and exposes you to sunlight so your body can produce vitamin D (which lowers your cancer risk), reset your circadian clock, and give you other benefits, too. Plus, you hit two new habits at once: movement and early sun.
No amount of alcohol is safe. It raises your risk for all cancers, including colon cancer. Cigarettes do the same.
Don’t guess when it comes to colorectal cancer, and don’t wait for (or ignore) signs such as painful defecation or blood in your stool. A colonoscopy isn’t just a screening technique; it’s a treatment, too. It can save your life — no matter how old or young you are.
Make sure your colon is healthy by booking a colonoscopy today. You can reach our offices by phone or online form.
