You may think of cancer as an age-related disease, but it very much affects young peopleespeciallycolon cancer.

And its prevalence is only rising.

One reason for this is that there is a big lifestyle and environmental component to the disease.

Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN

In fact, data suggests that around50% of colon cancer cases2can be prevented through lifestyle modifications.

Here’s what you oughta know about colon cancer and six habits that could help lower your risk.

This dysregulated environment can fuel abnormal cell growth.

Interracial couple cooking a meal

Improving body composition often refers tolosing fat and gaining muscle.

Both stimulatemuscle protein synthesisand can help muscle growth.

Having more lean mass means youburn more calories at rest.

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This means there is substantial evidence linking consumption of these foods to cancer.

Cooking time and method of all animal proteins matter.

So keepprocessed meatconsumption as minimal as possible.

Unprocessed meat and poultry, on the other hand, are great sources of high-quality protein.

But it turns outvitamin D intake is also linked to colon cancer.

That said, other studies have also shown no significant decrease.

Garlicpacks a lot of nutritional value in each clove.

It containsantioxidants16that help with detoxification, nourish gut bacteria, quell inflammation, and reinforce immune cells.