Preventing bowel cancer
Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK and worldwide, but it is also one of the most preventable. Making changes to your diet and lifestyle can significantly reduce your risk.
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Reducing your risk
Around 45% of bowel cancer cases could be prevented by following our Cancer Prevention Recommendations. Here are 6 ways to reduce your bowel cancer risk, based on research from our Global Cancer Update Programme.
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1. Eat more fibre, including wholegrains
Eating a fibre-rich diet, including wholegrains, can reduce bowel cancer risk. Good sources of fibre include:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Pulses (eg beans, chickpeas and lentils)
- Unsalted nuts and seeds
- Wholegrains (eg wholemeal bread, brown rice and wholewheat pasta)
In the UK, people are recommended to eat 30g of fibre a day.
It’s important to keep hydrated when eating more fibre to support your digestion. Aim for 6–8 glasses a day.
For more information and advice, visit our fibre and wholegrains page or download our fibre factsheet.
For fibre-rich recipes that are nutritious and flavoursome, browse all our recipes.
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2. Limit processed and red meat
Eating processed meat, such as ham, bacon and sausages, and too much red meat, including beef, pork and lamb, increases bowel cancer risk.
That’s why we recommend:
- Eating little or no processed meat
- Limiting red meat to no more than 3 portions per week (a total of 350–500g in total)
For more guidance, visit our meat and cancer page or download our processed meat factsheet.
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3. Keep active
Regular physical activity helps reduce bowel cancer risk by helping you maintain a healthy weight and supporting digestion.
Try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, like brisk walking or cycling – around 20–30 minutes a day. Or, do 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, like running or an aerobics class – around 10–15 minutes a day.
Learn more on our exercise and cancer page or download our physical activity factsheet.
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4. Maintain a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of 13 different types of cancer, including bowel cancer. To achieve a healthier weight, aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet and move more throughout your day.
Visit our weight and cancer page or download our weight factsheet for information and support to achieve a healthier weight.
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5. Reduce your alcohol intake
Drinking alcohol increases the risk of bowel cancer and at least 6 other cancers.
For cancer prevention, it is best to avoid alcohol altogether.
Find more guidance on our alcohol and cancer page or download our alcohol factsheet.
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6. Don’t smoke
Smoking is a major risk factor for many cancers, including bowel cancer. Quitting smoking can significantly reduce your risk.
For support and free stop-smoking services, speak to your doctor.
Visit our smoking and cancer page for more information.
Bowel cancer screening
Bowel cancer is highly treatable if detected early. Attending bowel cancer screening when you are invited can identify bowel cancer before symptoms appear, improving the chances of successful treatment.
For more on symptoms, visit our bowel cancer symptoms page.
To learn about screening in the UK, visit the NHS bowel cancer screening page.
Help fund life-saving research
We are committed to funding research to help progress our understanding of bowel cancer and what we can do to prevent it. From April 2021 to June 2024, we funded 21 grants on colorectal (bowel) cancer, accounting for 20% of our research portfolio.
Every donation helps us continue this important work.
Prevention FAQs
Here are some common questions we receive around how to reduce your risk of bowel cancer, with answers from our experts.
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How many cases of bowel cancer could be prevented in the UK each year?
We estimate that around 45% of bowel cancer cases in the UK could be prevented if we all made changes to our diets such as eating more wholegrains, and eating less red and no processed meat. Other changes – such as cutting down on your alcohol intake, increasing how much activity you do, and being a healthy weight – also reduce the risk of many other diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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Which food can help to prevent bowel cancer?
Food that has been found to help reduce your cancer risk include:
- Wholegrains
- Beans, legumes and pulses
- Fruit and vegetables
- Fish
Making these foods a big part of your daily diet is not only important for your general health, but also means that you’re making bowel cancer less likely.
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Apart from eating wholegrains, what else can I eat to reduce my risk?
Replacing red and processed meat with chicken, fish, eggs, pulses and soya-based food like tempeh and tofu is a great way to help reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
We also recommend a variety of different-coloured fruit and vegetables. They’re an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet and can help maintain a healthy weight, which is important for helping to prevent bowel cancer as well as many other chronic diseases.
It’s possible that eating plenty of fish could also reduce your risk, but more research is needed before we can say for definite.
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Can exercise help protect against bowel cancer?
Moderately intense physical activity, such as brisk walking, can help reduce your risk of cancer of the colon, a part of the bowel. Our research has found that people who are more physically active have a decreased risk compared with those who do very little.
For cancer prevention generally, people should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every week.
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I’ve heard that multivitamins and vitamin D supplements can reduce my risk of bowel cancer. Is this true?
For cancer prevention we advise against taking supplements. However, there are certain supplements that are recommended.
The UK Department of Health advises that people should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D in autumn and winter to protect bones and muscle health. During the spring and summer, most people should be able to make all the vitamin D they need from sunlight but remember to take safety precautions such as applying SPF 30 or above sunscreen at least 15 minutes before entering the sun.
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