Nov 18, 2024
Dr writes:
There’s little doubt in my mind that the rapid rise in Europe and the US points to lifestyle and environmental factors. For instance, we now know a diet high in ultra-processed food and processed meats – and low in fibre – is a risk factor for bowel cancer. So, too, is being overweight, smoking, alcohol and not taking exercise.
And research has suggested that environmental factors such as pesticides, plastics and air pollution could potentially also be contributing.
But more recently, emerging evidence points to the role of our gut microbiome – the community of microbes that is found there – in protecting us from bowel cancer. Harm those microbes, and you have a higher risk of bowel cancer.
And, yes, not surprisingly, antibiotics are implicated. A 2022 study published in the British Journal of Cancer compared the rates of antibiotic use in cancer patients against people who were identical in every way except they didn’t have cancer.
[…]
The results showed that the under-50s had a nearly 50 per cent higher chance of getting bowel cancer if they’d had antibiotics. But in the over-50s, antibiotics use was only associated with a 9 per cent increased risk.
This is not necessarily proof that antibiotic use can increase your risk of bowel cancer, but it is an eye-opening piece of research with a good scientific explanation for what’s going on.
[…]
As for what you can do now to protect yourself, my first port of call would be to take steps to improve your gut microbiome.
That means eating more fibre and less ultra-processed food – and try including fermented foods such as kefir and sauerkraut in your diet.
I also think a daily probiotic supplement is a good idea – look for one with at least one billion colony-forming units (or CFUs) per capsule.
There is evidence for this: A 2021 review of studies on the role of probiotics in cancer prevention, published in the journal Cancers, concluded: ‘There is a lot of evidence that the use of probiotics can play an important role in cancer prevention and support anti-cancer therapies.’
As for my patients, while I was once content to prescribe antibiotics fairly liberally, I’m now much more cautious – and I always tell them to take their prescription with probiotics, knowing this advice will do no harm and may very well reduce their risks of getting bowel cancer.
