Cancer Prevention Blog

Fibre-rich foods can help reduce risk of developing bowel cancer

It can sometimes be difficult to know how seriously to take the findings of new research about which foods either cause or prevent cancer.

Is it just another small study whose findings will by contradicted by another study the following month? Or is the evidence strong enough for it to be worth changing your lifestyle as a result of it.

But with recent coverage of a study about the effect of foods containing fibre on bowel … Continue Reading

Can walking prevent cancer?

Deciding to walk instead of taking public transport might be something people do to save money, but it could also be helping to prevent cancer.

This is because there is strong scientific evidence that being regularly physically active reduces risk of breast cancer, bowel cancer and cancer of the endometrium (womb lining), as well as helping to maintain a healthy weight, which is also important for cancer prevention.

Sometimes, people think that being regularly physically active … Continue Reading

Behind the Headlines, the NHS website that analyses health stories in the media, has just published an excellent article on newspaper reports that beans and lentil reduce bowel cancer risk.

Or, as the Daily Express memorably put it, “Hippy diet can ward off cancer“.

Behind the Headlines references our Expert Report, which found strong evidence that foods containing fibre reduce bowel cancer risk.

Red meat: a cancer risk factor

World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) is sometimes accused of spreading the same message as interest groups championing vegetarianism or animal rights because of our advice to people to reduce their intake of red and processed meat.

On the face of it, this may seem to chime with the outlook of these groups but WCRF has come to this position through studying decades of scientific research on the cancer … Continue Reading

Fibre - how much is enough?

We are often told that eating a diet high in fibre will help to keep our digestive system healthy and protect us from some illnesses, including cancer. But how much is enough and how can we add more to our diet?

Studies have found that eating foods that contain fibre can lower our risk of bowel cancer, the third most common cancer in the UK. Fibre-rich foods also help to control blood sugar … Continue Reading

WCRF UK's booklet offers helpful advice for cancer survivors

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and last weekend our education team was invited to have an information stand at Beating Bowel Cancer‘s ‘Beyond Bowel Cancer’ event.

We were really pleased to be invited as we are admirers of the important work that Beating Bowel Cancer does.

The event was billed as a day of support, sharing and learning for bowel cancer patients and their friends and family.

Bowel cancer is the third … Continue Reading

Physical activity: Too expensive?

Today we issued a press release about a survey that suggests many people find the financial cost of gyms stops them being more physically active.

Almost one in three people said financial cost was a barrier to being more physically active, with younger people in particular finding that it was putting them off.

The story has been covered by newspapers such as the Daily Mail and The Metro and you can see Dr … Continue Reading

Alcohol: a bowel cancer risk factor

There is coverage in the media today about a new study in the British Medical Journal, the study suggests that people can reduce their risk of developing bowel cancer by 23% by making lifestyle changes.

Our response to the study is included in the Daily Mail article.

These are interesting findings and when you consider that about 38,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year, they … Continue Reading

Keeping the findings of the Expert Report up to date

Dr Teresa Norat from Imperial College London told the WCRF scientific conference today how the data collected for our Expert Report is being updated in a central database for the World Cancer Research Fund Continuous Update Project (CUP).

The CUP will be the biggest resource on diet, weight, physical activity and cancer prevention in the world.

Since 2007, … Continue Reading

Processed meat and cancer

I’ve just been listening to the French scientist Denis Corpet, who has been looking at the link between processed meat and cancer.

Our Expert Report concluded there is convincing evidence that eating processed meat increases risk of bowel cancer.

Denis and his colleagues have been doing laboratory studies into what exactly it is about processed meat that increases risk.

He raised the fascinating prospect that at some point in the future we could make changes to make processed meat … Continue Reading