CUT YOUR RISK OF CANCER
the body less efficient at absorbing the vital nutrients it needs from food — so over the long term, this can cause deficiencies in vitamins a, D and zinc, all of which have important roles to play in our immune system’s defence against disease and cell damage.
This is why a wide range of serious diseases in other parts of the body — including dementia diabetes, arthritis and obesity — can either be caused or aggravated by poor gut health and chronic inflammation.
There is also emerging data to suggest it is a ‘trigger’ for type 1 diabetes — because the body gets confused by toxins in the blood stream and starts inadvertently attacking its own pancreas.
This chronic inflammation also helps to explain why the tumours associated with poor gut health are not just restricted to several types of bowel cancer.
In addition, scientists now know that healthy colonies of good gut bacteria use phytochemicals to produce a fatty acid called butyrate that helps protect the cells lining the colon from genetic damage.
Not only this, but butyrate also kills established colon cancer cells before they get a foothold — yet another reason why eating a diet high in phytochemical-rich vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices is a key way to look after your gut health and cut your cancer risk.
The cancer-fighting results of feeding your good gut bacteria with phytochemical-rich foods was recently illustrated by an exciting academic study that I was involved with at the Primrose Oncology Research Unit at Bedford Hospital.
Known as the Pomi-T study (after the extracts we tested: pomegranate, broccoli, turmeric and green tea), it is to date the world’s largest and probably most respected trial evaluating the impact of phytochemical-rich foods.
It was clear from our trial, which involved 203 men with diagnosed prostate cancer, that taking a gut-friendly probiotic supplement rich in phytochemicals not only reduced inflammation in the gut but also slowed the progression of the prostate cancer in those who took it, compared with those in the control group who did not.
This is one of the many reasons I am so excited at how many ways there are, based on the latest science, to take control of our own health — starting with looking after our guts. It really does help to look at your diet again and think about ways to eat for your gut.
I’ll look in more detail at which supplements are helpful to take in tomorrow’s pullout.