14 DAY TRIAL // People who happen to be big fans of fast food, fizzy drinks and sweets might want to start “seasoning” these treats with a cup of coffee.
This is because, according to a team of Edinburgh and Aberdeen University researchers, fatty and sugary snacks up bowel cancer risk, whereas coffee appears to protect the human body against the onset of said medical condition.
Naturally, it would be best if people gave up on fast food, sugary drinks and sweets altogether.
Writing in a recent issue of the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, the British scientists explain that, as their investigations have shown, people who feast on biscuits, chocolate, cakes, nuts and crisps more often than they should are 18% more likely to get bowel cancer.
On the other hand, fizzy drinks have been documented to increase bowel cancer risk by roughly 12%, Daily Mail reports.
Oddly enough, fish consumption has also been linked to an increase in bowel cancer risk. Specialists suspect that this was because most people cook fish in unhealthy ways before eating it.
Dr. Evropi Theodoratou maintains that, according to her and her colleagues’ findings, coffee can help lower bowel cancer risk by 8%, provided that it is not consumed in excess.
The scientists are unable to say why it is that coffee benefits the human body in this manner, but believe that several chemical compounds in this beverage keep the bowels active and thus inhibit the formation of tumors.
Dr. Evropi Theodoratou argues that further research is needed before science can explain how and why said foods and beverages trigger bowel cancer.
She expects that, as fast food and fizzy drinks are gaining popularity not just in heavily industrialized countries, but also in other parts of the world, it is only a matter of time until someone thoroughly researches their effects on the human body.
More so since bowel cancer kills almost as many people as lung cancer does.