According to a new study,  ginger root may lower some indicators of inflammation in the colon. The study, published in Cancer Prevention Research, is an early step toward finding out whether compounds found in ginger root might prevent colon cancer.

“Many studies in cell culture have shown that ginger is an anti-inflammatory,” says study researcher Suzanna M. Zick, ND, a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.

Other studies in mice and rats have shown that ginger may help prevent the formation of tumors when it’s fed to the animals exposed to a chemical that causes colon cancer.
Zick and her team wanted to see whether those findings might translate to humans.

For the study, researchers randomly assigned 30 healthy adults to take capsules containing either 2 grams of powered ginger root or a placebo powder every day for four weeks.

It’s equivalent to about 2 tablespoons of ground-up ginger root,” Zick says. “It’s probably not what an average American would want to do every day. But certainly in India and China and Japan, they eat that amount on a daily basis,” she says, noting that those countries have lower rates of colorectal cancer.

But Asian diets may be protective for other reasons, too. Asian diets tend to include more vegetables and fiber and less red meat, for example.

“It probably all contributes together,” she says.

People in the study were asked to take the capsules at mealtimes. They weren’t allowed to use any other kind of medications, including aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) immediately before or during the study, because those are known to have anti-inflammatory effects.

But these days, vegetables take a backseat to meat. The average American eats almost 300 lbs of meat a year! When meat is the center of the meal, it’s easy to lose focus on the other potentially-amazing foods on your plate. Consequently, we began to lose focus on the importance of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Planning a meatless meal for one day a week doesn’t have to be about becoming a vegetarian permanently…it can simply re-acquaint you with the other important and delicious delights your palate is missing out on.

According to an article on Medscape Today, “Polyphenols in fruits, soybean, vegetables, herbs, roots, and leaves act as bioactive components related with prevention of cancer, heart diseases and diabetes.” So not only do you reduce saturated fat, but you also increase your consumption of nutrients proven to fight for you if you go vegetarian one day a week.

Here are 6 good reasons why:

1. YOUR HEALTH
Eating less red meat is known to help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. Studies have also shown that a diet rich in fruits, grains and vegetables greatly reduce heart disease and diabetes.

Wrong.

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You may not realize this, but lack of sleep is much more dangerous than simply feeling more tired than usual. Increasingly, researchers tell us, it’s clear that not getting enough sleep can become a serious health hazard.

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Sleep deprivation can up your risks of:

Colon Cancer

In a study of 1,240 people published in 2011, Case Western University researchers found that those who slept fewer than 6 hours a night were 47 percent more likely to have colorectal polyps, which can become cancerous, than people who clocked at least 7 hours of sleep.

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So what’s their secret for great health?

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Studies of places around the world where chronic diseases are rare reveal some surprisingly simple habits that can help you live an unusually long, healthy life.

So what are the secrets of some of the world’s healthiest people?

Copper Canyon, Mexico: Diabetes
Although rates of type 2 diabetes are soaring at an alarming rare in Mexico—and the US—this lifestyle-related disease is almost unknown among the more than 50,000 Tarahumara Indians who live in Copper Canyon. Yet the Tarahumara Indians are close genetic relatives of the Pima Indians of the US, who have the highest rates of type 2 in the world.

Surprisingly, the Tarahumara Indians eat a high-carb diet, but it’s based on unrefined carbs, such as hand-ground tortillas, beans, and corn. This combination of foods appears to lower the glycemic index of the carbs, while herbs and spices in the tribe’s diet—including cinnamon, cloves, parsley, garlic, and mustard greens—also have beneficial effects on blood sugar. In addition, the Tarahumara lead a traditional lifestyle, which includes plenty of exercise, also helping explain their resistance to diabetes, despite genes that predispose them to develop it.

The problem with Americans today is that they are lazy. Yes, I said it – LAZY.

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There are really just three simple, sustainable habits that will help most people avoid the most feared medical condition – CANCER.

It is simple, really: don’t smoke cigarettes, eat a nutritious diet, exercise and maintain a healthy weight.

Smoking

Womack, whose singing career has spanned more than 50 years with a repertoire that includes hits such as “Across 110th Street,” “Lookin’ for A Love” and “Harry Hippie,” has had his share of health problems over recent years.

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Blacks & Colon Cancer

African American men have less than a 5-year survival rate for colon cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men, and should therefore be screened for the disease at 40 (10 years earlier than their White counterparts).

To lower your colon cancer risks:

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African American men have less than a 5-year survival rate for colon cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men, and should therefore be screened for the disease at 40. It’s the only form of cancer that can be both detected AND treated with a single screening test.

READ: 5 Diseases That Lack Of Sleep Can Cause

A Silent Killer

Also known as colorectal cancer, colon cancer typically doesn’t have any early warning signs. As happened with Gibb, many patients aren’t diagnosed until the disease spreads to other organs (in his case, the disease had spread to the liver, indicating stage 4 of the disease, which is often rapidly fatal even with aggressive treatment).

Colon cancer affects the large intestines (colon) and can extend to the last few inches called the rectum (anal cancer, the condition that killed Farrah Fawcett). The disease develops slowly, with more than 95 percent of cases starting as polyps, some of which (adenomas) can become cancerous if they aren’t found and removed. Typically it can take 10 years or longer for these polyps to morph into cancer.

Preventable but Neglected

This year, about 103,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer. Ranked as the second leading cause of cancer death, it’s expected to kill more than 50,000 American men and women this year. Yet most of these deaths are preventable with a simple test, according to the American Cancer Society.

The problem is that fewer than half of the Americans who need screening—those aged 50 or older—get the recommended tests, such as a colonoscopy. One study found that a key factor is that doctors neglect to recommend the lifesaving exam, while patients’ embarrassment, anxiety, or lack of health insurance can also be issues.

READ: 7 Ways To Avoid Colon Cancer

You have a higher risk for colon cancer if you:

• Are older than 60
• Are African American of eastern European descent
• Eat a diet high in red or processed meats
• Have cancer elsewhere in the body
• Have colorectal polyps
• Have inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis)
• Have a family history of colon cancer
• Have a personal history of breast cancer

Here are some of the best steps you can take to prevent colon cancer:

1.Get screened for colon cancer

People with an average risk of colon cancer can consider screening beginning at age 50. But people with an increased risk, such as those with a family history of colon cancer, should consider screening sooner. African-Americans and American Indians may begin colon cancer screening at age 40.

Several screening options exist — each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Talk about your options with your doctor, and together you can decide which tests are appropriate for you. Options may include:

2. Make lifestyle changes to reduce your risk

This is a common misconception, says registered dietitian Brie Turner-McGrievy, Ph.D., R.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A lot of people have no idea how to incorporate fiber-rich foods into their diet. They immediately think of whole wheat bread, fiber crackers, or powdered fiber mixed with water as a staple of a high-fiber diet.

“When I tell people to increase fiber, their first response is usually, ‘What fiber supplement should I take?’” says Dr. Turner-McGrievy. While supplements may occasionally be necessary, it’s best to start by incorporating more fiber-rich foods into your diet.

The good news is that many fiber-rich foods are as delicious as they are nutritious. You’ll find that your diet will become more plant-based over time and newly-enhanced with a variety of flavors. Here are 10 of the best natural sources to add more fiber to your diet:

Artichokes. Few fiber-rich foods are more fun to eat than artichokes, and this veggie treat provides you with about 7 grams of fiber.

Pears. Sweet, juicy pears rank high up on the list of surprisingly fiber-rich foods, ranging between 4.4 and 5.5 grams depending on the type of pear.

Berries. Blackberries and raspberries weigh in at 4 grams of fiber per serving and can be very tasty as a topping to breakfast cereal, as a stand-alone dessert, or as a simple, refreshing snack.

Mixed veggies. One-half cup of cooked vegetables delivers about 4 grams of fiber.

Cocoa powder. If you like to make your own hot chocolate, 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder in a one-cup serving equals about 4 grams of fiber.

New research adds to the growing evidence that daily aspirin may help prevent certain cancers from occurring. On top of that, daily aspirin may also be an effective treatment for people who already have cancer.

In a series of studies published in The Lancet, researchers in the United Kingdom expanded on previous research linking daily low-dose or full-strength aspirin use to a reduced risk of death from cancer over a decade of follow-up.

In their latest work, the researchers examined the short-term impact of aspirin therapy on cancer, finding a reduction in cancers after about three years of daily aspirin use, says University of Oxford professor of medical neurology Peter M. Rothwell, MD, PhD, who led the studies.

People taking aspirin for as few as five years had a lower risk of dying from cancer and of having their disease spread once it had been diagnosed.

Daily Aspirin Reduced Cancer Deaths

In one of the new studies, Rothwell and colleagues analyzed data from 51 trials originally designed to examine the impact of daily aspirin on heart attack and stroke risk.

According to the analysis, taking a low-dose aspirin every day reduced the risk of death from cancer by 37% after at least five years of use.

Taking a daily aspirin for at least three years reduced cancer incidence by close to 25% in both men and women.

In a second study, the researchers examined the impact of daily aspirin therapy on cancer metastasis, or spread, by analyzing newly published data from five other large trials.

Among the findings:

• Over an average follow-up of six-and-a-half years, daily aspirin use was associated with a 36% reduced risk of cancer with distant spread.

• Colorectal cancer patients with localized disease had a 74% reduced risk for having their disease spread when they took a daily aspirin.

• Daily aspirin use was associated with a 35% reduction in cancer deaths among patients with solid tumors, but not blood cancers such as leukemia.