On Thu, 18 Feb 1999  Lady Ariel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Okie, here's my latest burning question for the day.  Does a paleo
>diet increase ones risk of colon cancer?  I'm not through the entire
>book...and it does address cancer in general.  This is probably way
>way too much info, but I tend on the constipated side.  So, keeping my
>colon healthy is pretty important to me.  Then again eating broccoli
>and cabbage make things even worse which seems extremely odd as you'd
>think all that fiber would get things moving along quite well.

Md. Ariel-- Yours is a legitimate concern.  The odds of colon cancer begin
with your genetic predisposition; there appears to be a "colon cancer" gene,
and if you have this gene then your lifestyle has a significant effect on
whether you actually get the cancer.  Calcium-rich, fiber-rich, plant-based
diets correlate negatively with colon cancer, as does aspirin consumption.
It is easy to eat "paleo" and have very low intakes of calcium, fiber, and
plant-life.  If I were you, I would eat a version of the paleo diet that is
high in calcium (sardines; canned salmon; leafy greens; some varieties of
nuts; if you can't stomach the fish, then take a bone-meal supplement), high
fiber (lots of fruits/vegetables; and if these aren't enough to keep your
colon moving smoothly, then add a table spoon of psyllium to your diet), and
more plant- than animal-based.  I'd also be drinking plenty of water (to
move your stool; plus it is a good source of trace minerals) and taking a
children's aspirin every day.  There is some evidence that a variety of
cancers correlate positively with the ratio of omega 6's to omega 3's
(essential fatty acids)-- and eating the fatty ocean fish and leafy greens
will lower this ratio.  There is some evidence that green tea may
deter alimentary canal cancers.  If you really want to be proactive on the
whole issue, you should also get sigmoidoscopy (and a colonoscopy if the
sigmoidoscopy reveals nasty things about your sigmoid flexure) and a stool
test.

Cheers!

Gregg
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