Colorectal Cancer |
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On the health calendar July is Men’s Health Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. First off colorectal cancer isn’t confined to males. Sharon Osborne, wife of the singer Ozzy Osbourne, experienced colon cancer. Colorectal refers to the large intestine, the colon area. To avoid cancer we need to maintain healthy cells. Cancer is a form of intense abnormal cellular development. It’s like when you have a neat little organised suburb with clear streets and plots but then over development of randomly built houses can be the end of a proper functioning habitat.  The postman doesn’t know which house is number 46 along the street and in fact he can’t see the sky as congested buildings pile up. A tumour is a mass of abnormal cells. It’s common to have polyps along the colon before malignant colon cancer. The polyps are minor and should be removed often by surgery. There has been a study in the UK that revealed high doses of vitamin C in natural form helped reduce polyps. At present the official recommendation is surgery. It’s best to maintain a healthy colon by eating fibre. Fibre protects against colon cancer, that’s for sure! The colon houses billions of bacteria that can be to our detriment or benefit! You choose by what you select to feed your body. Certain bacteria produce enzymes to help us digest foods, some manufacture vitamins and produce antibiotics. We recognise that live bacteria fortified health yoghurts promote longevity. Indeed even maas (fermented cow’s milk, sour milk) has equal footing to yoghurt if quality produced. Yoghurts can be processed after fermentation to destroy any live bacteria and then gaining of those ‘goodies’, the beneficial bacteria is lost. There are numerous types of colon bacteria and each type has pros and cons but generally acid-producing bacteria (in yoghurt and sour milk) have far more pros for us. Alkaline-forming bacteria can break down undigested protein mainly to produce harmful toxins in the colon. They make little nests of toxin factories (bowel pockets). Carcinogens, cancer producing substances, are pumped out the production line. Amines (formed from amino acids, the building blocks of protein) are released as well. What happens is that they can damage the colon cells, and they v=can penetrate to invade our other tissues in the body. Vitamin C is known to prevent or limit harmful forms of amine production. Outcomes can be numerous as the degree or balance of bacterial habitants is constantly altered. Our immune system, stress, diet, medication and supplements affect the colon bacteria. Over-eating protein is the easiest way to feed the ‘badies’, the harmful bacteria. Less meat, more vegetables and some youghurt/maas has its relevance for the macho male to keep his colon healthy. Anastacia Sampson D.N. Med |