A doctor has shared the one item that you need to start including in your diet if you aren’t already. To help reduce your risk of cancer, the doctor says that it can help everyone, even if you have a restricted diet such as veganism. Sharing his message online, Dr Joseph Salhab aka @thestomachdoc on TikTok said that it helps ward off the risk of two health issues.
He revealed: “This one ingredient could decrease your risk of colon cancer. I’m a board-certified gastroenterologist. We have studies that show us that people who ate more yoghurt actually had a lower risk of not only colon cancer but colon polyps which can be pre-cancerous”. This type of cancer can also be called bowel cancer.
Unsure exactly why this could be, the expert says that there are two potential reasons for this. He explains further that it could be thanks to the calcium which “we know lowers your risk of colon cancer”. Not only this, but it could be due to the yogurt’s probiotics and live cultures which are contained in some yoghurt products. Dr Salhab says that “we think that gut bacteria could be involved in the formation of colon cancer and gut bacteria dysfunction can certainly be one of the reasons for it. When you have good gut diversity of good bacteria, that might help lower the risk of colon cancer”.
When it comes to vegans and other people who can’t have dairy, the expert says that “you can find a vegan yoghurt that gives you the amount of calcium you need and is fortified with probiotics” meaning “you might actually get the benefits” you need to lower your risk.
The product can be purchased for as low as 35p in supermarkets like Aldi, and potentially even cheaper if you opt for a smaller pot of yoghurt. Bowel cancer is a type of cancer that can occur anywhere in the large bowel, encompassing both the colon and rectum. The large bowel plays a crucial role in your digestive system, aiding in the absorption of water from your food and eliminating food waste from your body. The severity of bowel cancer hinges on the size of the cancer, whether it has metastasised, and your overall health condition.
With it being one of the most common types of cancer in the UK, people are urged to look out for the signs and symptoms with the NHS stressing that “bowel cancer screening can pick up bowel cancer early, which may mean it’s easier to treat.”
Symptoms of bowel cancer
- changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you
- needing to poo more or less often than usual for you
- blood in your poo, which may look red or black
- bleeding from your bottom
- often feeling like you need to poo, even if you’ve just been to the toilet
- tummy pain
- a lump in your tummy
- bloating
- losing weight without trying
- feeling very tired for no reason
Bowel cancer can cause anaemia (when you have fewer red blood cells than usual), which can make you feel very tired, short of breath and have headaches. The NHS warns people to call 111 or ask for an urgent GP appointment if your poo is black or dark red or you have bloody diarrhoea.
You should however call 999 if you’re bleeding non-stop from your bottom or there’s a lot of blood, for example, the toilet water turns red or you see large blood clots.