While there’s no magic bullet to help reduce your risk of dying from colorectal cancer, there are things you can do to improve your odds, such as eating like people native to countries in the Mediterranean.
The Mediterranean diet is chock full of cancer-fighting nutrients from plants and helps prevent obesity, a significant risk factor for colorectal cancer. A study of patients with early stage colorectal cancer, for example, found that when you combine a healthy body weight, regular physical activity and a primarily plant-based diet, the risk of death from the disease fell by 42 percent.
“Changes to your diet can have significant effects on your overall health and cancer risk,” says Dr. Darrell Gray, a gastroenterologist at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center — Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.
A healthy diet doesn’t just lower your risk of developing cancer in the first place. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, the 1.1 million colorectal cancer survivors in the U.S. are at higher risk for developing a secondary cancer. Lifestyle changes, like adopting a healthy diet, can also help reduce this risk.
The Mediterranean diet is mostly plant-based, says Dr. Pankaj Vashi, medical director of gastroenterology/nutrition and metabolic support at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. “It’s a very good way to eat for everyone.” Vashi says there’s some epidemiological proof that in countries such as India, where residents eat a predominantly plant-based diet, the incidence of obesity is very low, and the incidence of colorectal cancer is low compared to affluent countries, where we tend to eat more red and processed meats.
Not only is obesity a risk factor for colorectal cancer, but it’s a huge problem in the U.S. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 70 percent of adults ages 20 and older are overweight or obese, and more than a third are obese. The NCI says obese people are 30 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer than those at a normal weight.
[See: The 12 Best Diets for Your Heart.]
What Are the Basics of the Mediterranean Diet?
A Mediterranean diet is high in vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts, fish and lean sources of protein, such as chicken (preferably organic) and eggs. Plant-based foods offer multiple benefits: fewer calories, more fiber and water (which makes you feel full so you don’t eat as much), and a wide range of important nutrients. According to the AICR, eating whole grains — which, of course, are made from plants — reduces colorectal risk. And the more you eat, the more it lowers your risk. In fact, eating approximately three servings per day of whole grains (for example, brown rice or whole-wheat bread) reduces the risk of colorectal cancer by 17 percent.
Fish is an important component of the Mediterranean diet. Certain types of fish — such as salmon, mackerel and albacore tuna — are high in omega-3 fatty acids, Gray says. They have a demonstrated beneficial effect on cardiovascular health and some on cancer risk, including colorectal cancer risk, he says.
Just as important as what you eat is what you don’t eat. The Mediterranean diet is low in red meat, alcohol and processed foods, such as bacon and salami.
[See: 9 Foods Packed With Potassium.]
Making the Transition
If you’re accustomed to eating a lot of meat and not a lot of plant foods, the AICR suggests you make the transition gradually. Choose smaller portions of meat and add vegetables until you reach the proportions prescribed by the New American Plate, the AICR’s cancer preventive approach to eating, which is two-thirds vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, and one-third animal protein.
According to a presentation at the 2017 European Society for Medical Oncology, the three most important things you can do to shift to a Mediterranean diet are to load up on fish and fruit and cut back on soft drinks. In a press release about the presentation, one of the study authors said, “We found that each one of these three choices was associated with a little more than 30 percent reduced odds of a person having an advanced, pre-cancerous colorectal lesion, compared to people who did not eat any of the MD [Mediterranean Diet] components. Among people who made all three healthy choices, the benefit was compounded to almost 86 percent reduced odds.”
[See: The Best Foods for Lowering Your Blood Pressure.]
The Bottom Line
What’s really important to drive home, Gray says, is that none of the recommendations for a healthy diet or a healthy lifestyle (such as exercise and moderate alcohol consumption) should be taken in isolation. “If you’re serious about reducing cancer risk or maintaining health and wellness, all these factors must be done together.”
Any diet has to be balanced and sustained, Vashi says. “A crash diet is not sustainable. The Mediterranean diet is sustainable. It has lots of options. It’s good for you. It’s one of the best diets to prevent cancer, heart disease and obesity.”
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