Smoking, alcohol and unhealthy food raise the risk of colon cancer, which usually affects people over 50 but is increasingly seen in younger people. Citing a report in Anandabazar Patrika, Samakal carries the advice of Harvard-trained gastroenterologist Saurabh Sethi on habits that lower the risk.

Coffee contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds; some studies have linked regular coffee to lower colorectal cancer risk, he says, but it should be drunk after breakfast and before late afternoon, not on an empty stomach. Calcium-rich foods such as yoghurt and milk help bind harmful substances in the gut and protect the colon wall.

He advises cutting processed foods such as bacon, sausages and frozen meat; the World Health Organization classes processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen. Eating more fibre from lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds lowers colorectal cancer risk.

Early colorectal cancer may have no clear symptoms, so regular screening from age 45 is important without waiting for symptoms, and earlier for people with a family history or other risks.

Source: Samakal