Bowelcanceristhethirdmostcommontypeofcancer
inAustralia,withmorethan15,000newcasesconfirmed
eachyear.HFGsharesthestatsyouneedtoknow.hfg FEATURES
BOWEL CANCER
by numbers
Theageafterwhich
yourriskofdeveloping
bowelcancerincreases
significantly.Otherrisk
factorsincludeafamily
historyofthedisease,
apreviousoccurrence
ofbowelcancer,ahistoryofpolyps,an
inflammatorybowelconditionsuchas
Crohn’sdisease,increasedinsulinlevels
ortype 2 diabetes.Testoftenafter50!Text:MelissaMeier.Photos:iStock.Themaximumnumberofstandard
drinksconsumedeachdaythatis
considered‘lowrisk’forthegeneral
population,alongwithatleasttwo
alcohol-freedaysperweek.Studies
havelinkedevenlightdrinkingtoan
increasedriskofbowelcancer—so
putsimply,themoreyoudrink,
thegreateryourrisk.
That’s how much you could
cut your risk of bowel cancer
— by eating three serves of
whole grains each day. Simple
swaps like eating brown grainy
bread instead of white bread,
wholemeal pasta instead of
white pasta, and rolled oats
instead of refi ned breakfast
cereals, make all the di erence.28-38
50
YEARS
GRAMS
The amount of fi bre you should aim for each day
as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Fibre not only
adds bulk to stools and guards against constipation,
it promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the
bowel. Include plenty of whole grains, legumes, fruit,
vegetables, nuts and seeds for your daily fi bre fi x.28 healthyfoodguide.com.au