Common supermarket food can 'slash risk of colon cancer', doctor claims
A gut expert has drawn attention to a surprisingly common supermarket staple with the potential to slash your risk of colon cancer. Dr Joseph Sallhab, a gastroenterologist from the US, praised the everyday item for its impressive calcium content, hinting it may be a secret weapon against the life-threatening illness.
Colon cancer is among the most common types of cancer in the UK. Dr Sallhab's advice comes as a startling 44,063 new cases arise in the UK every year, according to Cancer Research.
Speaking to his 1.8million followers (@thestomachdoc), he explained: "We have studies that show us that people who ate more yoghurt actually had a lower risk of not only colon cancer, but colon polyps which can be precancerous. Now, we don't know exactly why yoghurt gives this benefit, part of it being that it might give you the calcium you need which again we know lowers your risk of colon cancer."
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Among the research Dr Sallhab refers to is a study from 2002 which investigated the connection between calcium consumption and cancer risk in 87,998 women and 47,344 men. Overall, results showed that higher calcium intake was indeed linked to a 'reduced risk of distal colon cancer', with experts flagging the need to explore this relationship further.
While the study was not centred on yoghurt, Dr Sallhab asserts that probiotics and live cultures within these dairy products may enhance the potential calcium effect too. Again, this is backed up by evidence from a number of studies, but further analysis is required to confirm the extent of this pattern.
Dr Sallhab went on: "[It] also could be that the probiotics and live cultures contained in some of these yoghurt products give the benefit of lowering the risk of colon cancer because we think that gut bacteria could be involved in the formation of colon cancer and gut bacterial dysfunction can certainly be one of the reasons for it.
"When you have good gut diversity of good bacteria, this might help lower the risk of colon cancer... For my vegan friends who don't eat yoghurt, if you can find a vegan yoghurt that gives you the amount of calcium you need and is fortified with probiotics, you might actually get the same benefit."
Worried about colon cancer? The NHS' list of symptoms is outlined below:
Bloating
Unexplained weight loss
Unexplained exhaustion
Changes in consistency and colour of faeces
Increased need to use the toilet
Lump in belly
Bleeding from bottom or blood in faeces
