2019-06-01_Healthy_Food_Guide_UK_(2)

24 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE JUNE 2019

EXPERTSSAYTHATMAKINGDIETAND

LIFESTYLECHANGEScouldpreventup

to20,000ofthe42,000casesofbowel

cancerintheUK– sobeingproactive

canmakea bigdifference.

WHO’SATRISK?

Thoseover 50 (althoughyounger

peoplecandevelopit,too),and

thosewhohavea strongfamilyhistory

ofbowelcancerareatrisk.Being

overweight,smoking,drinkingexcessive

amountsofalcoholandeatingtoomuch

redandprocessedmeatarealsofactors.

SYMPTOMS

Watchforbleedingfromyourbottom

orbloodinyourstools(particularlydark

redblood,whichis a signofbleeding

inyourbowel).A persistentchangein

bowelhabitslastingthreeweeksor

more(especiallydiarrhoeaorlooser

stools),unexplainedweightloss,painor

a lumpinyourtummymayalsobe

signs.Extremetirednessfornoobvious

reasonmaybeduetoiron-deficiency

anaemiacausedbyinternalbleeding

frompolyps(pre-cancerouslumps)or

tumoursinthebowel.

HOWTOPROTECTYOURSELF

Maintaininga healthyweightandeating

a dietrichinfibre,wholegrains,fresh

fruitandveg,fishanddairyis important.

Youshouldavoidconsuminghighlevels

ofalcohol,andtheDepartmentof

Healthrecommendslimitingyourselfto

70gcookedweightofredorprocessed

meata day.Ina newstudy,however,

volunteerswhoateanaverageofjust

76gredandprocessedmeatstillhad

a 20%higherchanceofdeveloping

bowelcancerthanthosewhoate

around21ga day.

Menandwomenshouldtakepartin

thenationalbowelcancerscreening

programmeforpeopleaged 60 to74.

You’llbesenta homefaecalbloodtest

kiteverytwoyears,andyousimplysend

5

THINGS

YOU

SHOULDN’T

IGNORE

BREAKING

ABONE

Osteoporosisaffects

menaswellaswomen.

If you’reover 50 and

breaka boneaftera low-impactfall,

askfora DEXAbonescan.Menathigh

riskofosteoporosisincludethosewitha

familyhistoryofit,hormonalconditions

suchashypogonadismandother

conditionssuchascoeliacdiseaseor

Crohn’sdisease,whichaffectabsorption

ofminerals.Lowlevelsoftestosterone

mayalsoputyouatrisk.

TOOMUCH

SUNAGAIN...

Casesofmalignant

melanomashavemore

thandoubledintheUK

sincetheearly1990s.It isnowthefifth

mostcommoncancerintheUK,yet

86%ofcasesarepreventablewithsun

protectionmeasuressuchascovering

up,avoidingthesunatthehottesttime

ofthedayandwearingsuncream.The

mostcommonsitesformelanomasin

menarethebackorchest,solookoutfor

newmolesorchangestoexistingones.

TAKE THE

BOWEL

CANCER TEST

^Thisisonehealthconcernwhere

beingproactiveaboutdietandlifestyle

changescanmakea bigdifference

_

It’seasytodismiss

somethingasa minor

problem,butdon’toverlook

thesehealthissues...

Wake-up

QOÍ

4

PHOTOS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, POSED BY MODELS