Bring home less bacon? How to lessen your risk of bowel cancer

Rates of bowel cancer in young people are rising more sharply in England than in many other countries around the world, a study has found.

- Guardian staff

Experts are still in the early stages of understanding the reasons behind the rise, but here we look at some of the factors that could be contributing.

Diet is an important factor. In particular, eating too much red and processed meat and consuming high quantities of sugary drinks or highly refined processed carbs increases your risk.

It is estimated that around 13 out of 100 bowel cancer cases in the UK are linked to eating too much red and processed meat such as bacon, salami, sausages, canned meat, or chicken nuggets, because they contain chemicals called nitrosamines. The government recommends that people eating more than 90g of red and processed meat a day should reduce it to 70g or less. It might help to swap red meat for chicken or fish.

Eating more fiber also reduces your risk of bowel cancer. Eating too little fiber causes around 30 in 100 bowel cancer cases in the UK.