Colorectal cancer is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, but it can be prevented with the help of diet, new research reveals.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. In 2020 alone it killed nearly 10 million people, according to data from the World Health Organization.

In addition to being common, colorectal cancer is one of the most lethal. Last year, it caused 935,000 deaths, only behind lung cancer, responsible for 1.8 million deaths.

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New research by researchers in Europe and the United States has revealed that diet plays a key role in the prevention of colorectal cancer. What’s more, two foods, in particular, could actively help lower your risk of this disease.

As part of the study, scientists analyzed data from 860 previous investigations to better understand the association between eating certain foods and the risk of developing or dying from 11 different types of cancer.

The scientists found that alcohol is closely associated with the development of most of the cancers analyzed, confirming the findings of previous studies. In the specific case of colorectal cancer, the risk of developing this disease was found to increase with frequent consumption of red meat.

When it comes to reducing the risk of colorectal cancer, the scientists identified an inverse correlation between a diet rich in dairy products and whole grains with the incidence of the disease. That is, the more regularly individuals consumed these two types of foods, the less likely they were to develop this type of cancer.

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More specifically, the researchers concluded that the incidence of this type of cancer is lower in those people who consume about 14 ounces – just under 400 grams – of dairy products and three ounces of whole grains – about 85 grams – daily.

The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

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