The following program presents principles 00:00:01.98\00:00:03.27 designed to promote good health and is 00:00:03.30\00:00:05.34 not intended to take the place 00:00:05.43\00:00:06.69 of personalized professional care. 00:00:06.72\00:00:08.78 The opinions and ideas expressed are 00:00:09.41\00:00:11.37 those of the speaker. Viewers are 00:00:11.44\00:00:13.34 encouraged to draw their own conclusions 00:00:13.42\00:00:15.20 about the information presented. 00:00:15.23\00:00:17.01 Hello and welcome to Health For A Lifetime. 00:00:50.72\00:00:52.29 I'm your host Don Mackintosh, and today 00:00:52.35\00:00:54.28 we're gonna be talking about something that's 00:00:54.31\00:00:55.62 very important. We're gonna be talking 00:00:55.65\00:00:57.93 about colon health. And in America today 00:00:58.01\00:01:01.02 and around the world this is a huge problem. 00:01:01.22\00:01:03.71 Here to talk with us about this is 00:01:04.02\00:01:05.84 Dr. Christine Salter, she is a specialist in 00:01:05.88\00:01:08.75 family medicine and practices in St. Louis, 00:01:08.78\00:01:11.52 and we're glad you with us today. 00:01:12.02\00:01:13.32 Thank you, I'm very happy to be here. 00:01:13.72\00:01:15.20 And you have been practicing about five 00:01:15.25\00:01:16.72 years up there since 2001, that's right, 00:01:16.76\00:01:19.18 that's right. And, this is a big concern of 00:01:19.62\00:01:21.73 yours, Colon Health and you have some 00:01:21.76\00:01:24.12 real personal reasons for that. Absolutely, 00:01:24.15\00:01:27.30 you know my father was diagnosed with 00:01:27.33\00:01:29.67 Colon Cancer. Few years ago, he did not 00:01:29.83\00:01:34.02 succumb to it, but he had a big tumor and 00:01:34.05\00:01:38.60 one of my dear friends that I grew up 00:01:38.75\00:01:40.24 with also he was diagnosed but actually 00:01:40.31\00:01:43.65 succumbed to colon cancer. So I have a 00:01:43.78\00:01:46.21 real burden that people have excellent 00:01:46.24\00:01:49.64 colon health and do whatever they can do 00:01:49.71\00:01:51.34 to screen and prevent this deadly cancer. 00:01:51.43\00:01:55.65 How prevalent is this in America? 00:01:56.28\00:01:58.02 You know it's the 3rd killer in America 00:01:58.47\00:02:02.60 behind heart disease, we have heart 00:02:03.02\00:02:05.16 disease and we have lung cancer and then 00:02:05.19\00:02:07.31 that's followed by colon cancer. 00:02:07.71\00:02:08.89 And you are telling me that this is largely 00:02:09.11\00:02:11.38 preventable though, people don't need to be 00:02:11.54\00:02:13.29 succumbing to this. People don't have to 00:02:13.32\00:02:15.57 die of colon cancer. Now there are some 00:02:15.60\00:02:17.92 familial or hereditary syndromes where it's 00:02:18.46\00:02:20.77 just so, it's just so prevalent, it's just so 00:02:20.80\00:02:23.59 comical that they have these polyps and 00:02:23.62\00:02:26.35 that they quickly turn the malignant and in 00:02:26.41\00:02:28.39 a short period of time. They have very 00:02:28.42\00:02:31.71 intense screening, but for the general 00:02:31.76\00:02:34.34 population, people will not to be dying 00:02:34.37\00:02:37.52 because it takes so long for the tumor 00:02:37.55\00:02:39.41 to grow. So there is enough time to figure 00:02:39.44\00:02:41.87 out about it, but the key is prevention 00:02:41.90\00:02:44.65 through screening you're saying. 00:02:44.70\00:02:46.00 Yes, it's prevention through lifestyle and 00:02:46.03\00:02:48.18 proper screening. So, what kind of 00:02:48.56\00:02:51.18 screening are you talking about here? 00:02:51.26\00:02:53.24 Well, there are different methods that are 00:02:53.41\00:02:56.14 recommended, there is, well some people 00:02:56.21\00:02:59.15 they go to doctor they get the little card, 00:02:59.25\00:03:01.05 it's called a Fecal Occult Blood test, 00:03:01.08\00:03:02.95 that they can test with that and also have 00:03:03.59\00:03:06.34 a sigmoidoscopy. Some doctors do that in 00:03:06.37\00:03:08.59 their office and there is a colonoscopy that 00:03:08.62\00:03:11.17 is done and the hospital setting, 00:03:11.20\00:03:14.17 okay and then there barium enemas. 00:03:14.97\00:03:17.02 Now there is even virtual colonoscopy, 00:03:17.61\00:03:20.49 a virtual colonoscopy, yeah, that's right. 00:03:21.19\00:03:23.48 So, but even if you do it that way, if 00:03:23.71\00:03:27.60 something is found you still have to get 00:03:27.63\00:03:30.21 the regular colonoscopy done. I don't know 00:03:30.30\00:03:32.73 exactly know how that works, but let 00:03:32.76\00:03:34.12 me just go through those again, so you can 00:03:34.15\00:03:35.93 have these little card, that they take a 00:03:35.96\00:03:38.05 little sample of your fecal material, 00:03:38.19\00:03:40.42 that's right, and put that on there and 00:03:40.54\00:03:42.71 they send it to see if there is some blood 00:03:42.76\00:03:44.25 on it, to see if there is any blood, okay, 00:03:44.28\00:03:45.87 okay. And then that's number one, the number 00:03:46.16\00:03:47.42 two, well that's along with a sigmoidoscopy, 00:03:47.64\00:03:51.29 and a sigmoid is looking in that part of the 00:03:51.41\00:03:53.28 colon called the sigmoid, the sigmoid is 00:03:53.35\00:03:55.05 only one side on the left side of the body, 00:03:55.08\00:03:57.70 okay. So you're just looking at part of the 00:03:57.73\00:03:59.63 colon then, exactly, and then the, 00:03:59.66\00:04:02.11 what's the third one? The third one is the 00:04:02.16\00:04:04.10 colonoscopy, which is looking at the whole 00:04:04.13\00:04:05.79 thing, looking at the entire thing. 00:04:05.82\00:04:07.67 But how big is the colon, I mean you know, 00:04:07.80\00:04:09.48 I mean it depends on the person I suppose 00:04:10.33\00:04:11.96 but, it's several feet long, not as long, 00:04:12.01\00:04:15.77 not as long as the small intestine, right, 00:04:15.99\00:04:17.72 okay. So, because it would go up and around 00:04:17.75\00:04:20.38 so, you know a few feet. Right, so you're 00:04:20.41\00:04:23.45 looking at that, okay, and then, so there 00:04:23.48\00:04:26.37 was, there was the sigmoidoscopy, 00:04:26.40\00:04:28.45 there was the tagging for occult blood, 00:04:28.49\00:04:31.14 right, there was the colonoscopy then what 00:04:31.17\00:04:33.31 else was it? And also there is a barium 00:04:33.34\00:04:34.95 enema, and that's where you take the stuff 00:04:35.15\00:04:37.35 that kind of clay colored stuff, right, 00:04:37.85\00:04:39.62 that's right, you can drink it, drink it. 00:04:39.93\00:04:41.52 Also another that do actually is a enema, 00:04:41.72\00:04:43.35 okay, for the lower part you drink it when 00:04:43.80\00:04:45.60 you do the upper part, alright, okay. 00:04:45.63\00:04:47.92 And so you, they put that I know that 00:04:48.03\00:04:49.71 sounds really fun. I know people are home 00:04:49.74\00:04:52.43 and go, let me call in and let me go do 00:04:52.49\00:04:53.90 that right now, but, it's really essential. 00:04:53.93\00:04:56.10 And it's absolutely essential, I plead with 00:04:56.48\00:05:00.16 my patients to go and get this done, 00:05:00.19\00:05:03.04 and emphasize and. One more thing on the 00:05:03.91\00:05:07.09 screening you said that there is a virtual 00:05:07.12\00:05:09.23 colonoscopy you know I've been out of this 00:05:09.32\00:05:10.92 for a while. You know, in terms of working 00:05:11.13\00:05:13.37 in the hospital, but what is that? 00:05:13.40\00:05:14.96 Do they, is it like an MRI, what is it? 00:05:14.99\00:05:17.18 It's a non-invasive imaging, okay, 00:05:17.52\00:05:20.33 so that you know, so that they can look 00:05:20.36\00:05:22.40 to see if there's a problem there, if they do 00:05:22.55\00:05:24.57 see there is a problem there, they have that 00:05:24.61\00:05:26.55 the real, you still have the real, have to 00:05:26.58\00:05:27.57 have the real one. Okay, you see, so and 00:05:27.60\00:05:30.16 you still have to do the prep, but a lot of 00:05:30.19\00:05:31.56 people say oh I don't do it because the prep, 00:05:31.59\00:05:33.65 can I do the other one but, the other one 00:05:33.82\00:05:35.69 you still have to be prepped, you have to 00:05:35.75\00:05:37.41 drink some laxative and, yeah, stay off the, 00:05:37.98\00:05:41.81 clean out the whole, clean everything out. 00:05:42.07\00:05:43.78 Which can be you know troubling to some 00:05:44.62\00:05:47.37 people. It can be troubling, it can be 00:05:47.43\00:05:49.16 troubling. But hey, I mean the only thing 00:05:49.19\00:05:51.51 that's more troubling is to actually have 00:05:51.54\00:05:53.42 colon cancer and have not done anything 00:05:53.48\00:05:55.08 about it, absolutely, yeah, absolutely. 00:05:55.12\00:05:57.89 So you said this takes some amount of 00:05:57.92\00:05:59.70 time to develop. What are we talking about 00:05:59.73\00:06:01.21 in terms of time? Seven years, sometimes 00:06:01.26\00:06:04.37 seven years, seven years, eight years, 00:06:04.42\00:06:06.40 and then when do you as a, you know 00:06:06.43\00:06:08.24 specialist in family medicine when is it that 00:06:08.27\00:06:09.91 you start asking people go ahead and get 00:06:09.96\00:06:11.78 that checked, is that when they're. 00:06:11.81\00:06:13.29 Well that's recommended by the American 00:06:13.62\00:06:15.48 Academy of Gastroenterologist is that 00:06:15.51\00:06:17.78 screening starts at 50, 50, age 50 for 00:06:17.87\00:06:21.16 the general population. Now, if you have a 00:06:21.20\00:06:23.81 first degree relative, I mean mother, 00:06:23.87\00:06:25.70 father, brother or sister then you would 00:06:25.77\00:06:28.04 get screened 10 years prior to their diagnosis, 00:06:28.17\00:06:31.32 and on the same premise that it takes 00:06:32.11\00:06:33.43 that long, okay, okay so if you had a brother 00:06:33.46\00:06:38.41 who had colon cancer at 46, then you'd get 00:06:39.14\00:06:43.61 screen at 36, okay. So, when did your dad 00:06:43.74\00:06:48.31 develop that? Actually my father was eighty 00:06:48.36\00:06:51.70 eight, when he developed it, okay so you 00:06:51.73\00:06:53.84 don't have to get a screen until 70. 00:06:53.87\00:06:55.74 Well, so much case I'll be get screened 00:06:56.20\00:06:58.08 with general recommendations, right, 00:06:58.11\00:06:59.67 50 and you know and above, yeah, okay. 00:06:59.70\00:07:02.45 And then only in the nuclear family it 00:07:02.48\00:07:05.29 sounds like father, mother, brother, sister 00:07:05.32\00:07:07.60 or someone, or sister yeah. Exactly, or 00:07:07.69\00:07:09.60 if there is a, if there is a hereditary syndrome, 00:07:09.69\00:07:11.97 so, if there's a family history of you know 00:07:12.00\00:07:14.68 this is called "familial polyposis" where they 00:07:14.71\00:07:16.91 have a lot of polyps that quickly turn malignant 00:07:16.94\00:07:19.33 and so then you get screened in earlier or if 00:07:19.99\00:07:22.40 you already have a colonic process, 00:07:22.48\00:07:26.34 inflammatory bowel disease, okay, 00:07:26.97\00:07:28.87 ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, 00:07:28.90\00:07:31.42 that gives you an increased risk of colon 00:07:31.49\00:07:33.91 cancer. So then in which case you be 00:07:34.03\00:07:36.23 getting screened much earlier maybe in 00:07:36.26\00:07:37.73 your twenties. Now you told me you know 00:07:37.80\00:07:39.47 you're originally from England which is getting 00:07:39.57\00:07:41.14 you this, yes, elegant accent which I so much 00:07:41.19\00:07:43.12 enjoy, but you said that in some of the 00:07:43.19\00:07:45.95 countries where you have socialized medicine 00:07:45.98\00:07:48.46 like England, they don't have as much screening. 00:07:48.51\00:07:51.65 You know because it's just a different setup 00:07:52.47\00:07:54.16 all together, you know you come in, 00:07:54.24\00:07:56.40 if you have a problem you come and see 00:07:56.67\00:07:57.92 to the doctor okay, but if you don't 00:07:57.98\00:07:59.61 you don't, but if you don't, you don't you see. 00:07:59.83\00:08:01.94 And this more aggressive but in terms of the 00:08:01.97\00:08:05.02 preventive mode and it's wise. It's wise, 00:08:05.06\00:08:08.50 because you now if you don't come in it's 00:08:09.17\00:08:10.95 asymptomatic, it's asymptomatic in the 00:08:10.98\00:08:13.54 early stages, then it becomes symptomatic, 00:08:13.57\00:08:16.63 but by the time it comes symptomatic 00:08:16.78\00:08:18.27 very often, it may have spread and make it 00:08:18.32\00:08:22.73 not a 100 percent curable, which what it is if you 00:08:22.80\00:08:25.42 catch it early. Now you've talked about the 00:08:25.48\00:08:27.46 things that are silent, I mean you know, 00:08:27.52\00:08:29.08 you know you don't have any problem or it 00:08:29.51\00:08:31.44 doesn't seem like you have any problem 00:08:31.47\00:08:33.29 whatsoever, how is this related to say 00:08:33.40\00:08:37.21 diverticulitis, those little tiny, okay, 00:08:37.24\00:08:40.21 that you know. The little pockets, pockets 00:08:40.26\00:08:42.59 that developed and, okay, well diverticular 00:08:42.62\00:08:45.89 disease, there are two components, 00:08:45.93\00:08:48.25 there is diverticulitis which are the actual 00:08:48.28\00:08:50.38 pockets and very often in colonoscopy you 00:08:50.41\00:08:52.71 see those pockets and then you have 00:08:52.74\00:08:53.99 diverticulitis, which is actually inflammation, 00:08:54.18\00:08:57.34 okay, and infection in one of those pockets 00:08:57.43\00:09:00.09 and that can be very dangerous we could 00:09:00.20\00:09:01.67 call that the left side of the appendicitis, 00:09:01.70\00:09:04.76 because you can perforate and get 00:09:05.45\00:09:06.67 peritonitis. Do you get those pockets 00:09:06.85\00:09:09.71 because of increase pressure in the colon 00:09:09.74\00:09:11.89 usually 'cause there is not enough fiber in 00:09:11.94\00:09:13.51 the diet, okay? So low fiber diet, a lot of 00:09:13.54\00:09:18.37 pressure and then you get these out 00:09:18.46\00:09:20.39 pouchings there is no way for the pressure 00:09:20.43\00:09:22.19 to go, okay. So you get these little pockets 00:09:22.22\00:09:24.75 that form. And does that cause pain? 00:09:24.80\00:09:27.14 Diverticulosis just doesn't cause pain, 00:09:28.34\00:09:30.26 diverticulitis causes a lot of pain, 00:09:30.57\00:09:33.00 and I've had patients who actually have 00:09:33.64\00:09:35.15 tried to do a colon resection because 00:09:35.35\00:09:37.40 they're getting recurred diverticulitis, 00:09:37.43\00:09:39.28 and they just can't think to fix that little 00:09:39.57\00:09:41.12 area, they can't and it actually, it really 00:09:41.18\00:09:43.34 can't be fixed because ones that area is 00:09:43.37\00:09:44.75 weaken, you got the pocket, it's there 00:09:44.78\00:09:47.85 and so the treatment is to make sure you 00:09:47.95\00:09:49.94 continue to have a high fiber diet, 00:09:49.97\00:09:52.54 I see, okay and to listen to those signals. 00:09:53.05\00:09:55.78 If there's some physiological signals that 00:09:56.37\00:09:58.83 people often because of the way of society 00:09:58.90\00:10:01.22 is immune and a rush that people fail to 00:10:01.27\00:10:03.84 listen to, and that's called a gastrocolic 00:10:03.89\00:10:06.15 reflex. What is that called? It's called a 00:10:06.25\00:10:08.63 gastrocolic reflex, and what is that exactly? 00:10:08.77\00:10:11.29 So in the morning when you get up and 00:10:11.32\00:10:13.22 you drink your two glass of water and then 00:10:13.27\00:10:16.39 you eat breakfast, within 20 to 30 minutes 00:10:16.42\00:10:20.21 you should have the sensation to have a 00:10:20.36\00:10:21.74 bowel movement, and if you don't, 00:10:21.77\00:10:23.42 you got a problem, okay, you got a problem 00:10:24.17\00:10:25.73 or what happened to people just on to 00:10:25.78\00:10:27.31 go they're getting up, they're rushing out, 00:10:27.34\00:10:29.24 they are grabbing something and they are 00:10:29.27\00:10:30.46 out the door and then may get that 00:10:30.57\00:10:32.81 gastrocolic reflex but then what's they 00:10:32.88\00:10:34.59 going to do they're in the car now, 00:10:34.62\00:10:35.78 they're not able to go the bathroom, 00:10:35.81\00:10:36.98 and so they just resist that, they suppress 00:10:37.01\00:10:39.42 it and then it's going to take more of, 00:10:39.45\00:10:42.39 the bowel is going to accommodate to that 00:10:43.46\00:10:45.90 and it's gonna take more stool to then 00:10:45.95\00:10:48.50 get that sensation so that they, 00:10:48.72\00:10:50.47 they're setting themselves up for chronic 00:10:50.95\00:10:52.23 constipation and increased pressure in 00:10:52.32\00:10:53.97 the bowel. So the same way you can get 00:10:54.00\00:10:55.66 use to having a stomach that's too full you 00:10:55.70\00:10:57.49 can get used to having a bowel that's 00:10:57.57\00:10:59.35 too full, absolutely. So you know we just 00:10:59.38\00:11:01.79 go back here, because there is one 00:11:01.82\00:11:03.03 part here that maybe people wouldn't 00:11:03.06\00:11:05.30 understand and that is, okay, you know 00:11:05.33\00:11:07.62 you say you have diverticulosis that's that 00:11:07.75\00:11:09.56 pouching, right, diverticulitis is always 00:11:09.71\00:11:13.03 inflammation, right, and really causes 00:11:13.19\00:11:14.70 pain and the problem with both of those 00:11:14.90\00:11:16.82 is they can purpurate and then the 00:11:16.85\00:11:19.89 contents of the bowel go out into what 00:11:20.04\00:11:22.18 you call the peritoneum, which is really 00:11:22.21\00:11:25.50 that space all around it and that causes 00:11:25.54\00:11:28.00 an infection and sometimes this you just 00:11:28.03\00:11:30.80 can't get rid off, absolutely. You see the 00:11:30.97\00:11:32.86 bowel, when you think about the bowel 00:11:32.95\00:11:34.89 from the mouth to the anus, okay it's 00:11:34.92\00:11:39.33 inside the body but it's kind of outside, 00:11:39.40\00:11:41.18 okay and so there are bacteria in the 00:11:41.87\00:11:44.72 bowel that are very useful, in the bowel, 00:11:44.75\00:11:46.96 in the bowel, but we don't want those 00:11:47.02\00:11:48.78 bacteria getting out or even getting into 00:11:48.84\00:11:51.51 the blood stream then they become 00:11:51.54\00:11:53.68 very nasty, then may be get bacteria 00:11:53.79\00:11:55.86 back in there little, that's right, 00:11:55.89\00:11:57.09 that's right. Okay so, so we've talked 00:11:58.13\00:11:59.90 about the importance of the colon I mean 00:11:59.99\00:12:03.18 look we're thankful for our colon right 00:12:03.21\00:12:04.78 there, that's where everything gets 00:12:04.90\00:12:06.21 absorbed in the body, anything else it 00:12:06.24\00:12:08.28 does, absolutely. Well, it's a wonderful 00:12:08.38\00:12:11.63 organ, you know when you think about 00:12:12.61\00:12:14.67 what would happens with digestion the 00:12:14.83\00:12:16.02 whole process, each area is so specialized. 00:12:16.05\00:12:18.76 The colon is the area where most of the 00:12:19.29\00:12:21.89 water is absorbed, which means you got 00:12:21.99\00:12:23.82 to be drinking enough water because it's 00:12:23.85\00:12:25.64 reabsorbed in that area. The colon has 00:12:25.73\00:12:28.95 a billion bacteria, more cells then even 00:12:29.86\00:12:33.62 the body has, billions of bacteria and they 00:12:33.66\00:12:36.56 are all keeping this nice ecology, 00:12:36.59\00:12:38.68 this is own little environment, 00:12:39.09\00:12:40.65 keeping pathogens at bay, helping breakdown 00:12:42.21\00:12:46.12 food products and in fact it's those bacteria 00:12:46.15\00:12:48.23 that help with the nutrition of the colon 00:12:48.32\00:12:50.28 cells, they're called colonocytes they're 00:12:50.32\00:12:52.48 one cell thick, and they need, it's the 00:12:52.56\00:12:55.62 bacteria that act on the non-digestible 00:12:55.65\00:12:58.93 starch or fiber, I see, and they break 00:12:59.14\00:13:01.83 it down and then the nutrition, the short 00:13:01.86\00:13:05.31 range fatty acids is what the colonocytes 00:13:05.45\00:13:07.47 use for that nutrition, I see. So if you're 00:13:07.56\00:13:09.78 not getting the fiber then those cells not 00:13:09.81\00:13:12.51 getting the nutrition that they need, 00:13:12.61\00:13:14.20 and cellular health is really a key, 00:13:14.43\00:13:16.46 if you don't have proper cellular health 00:13:16.59\00:13:18.12 then the cells for repair, they're always 00:13:18.18\00:13:22.37 getting exposed to carcinogens that are 00:13:22.40\00:13:24.28 coming through the bowel, right, so then, 00:13:24.31\00:13:26.90 then they are more vulnerable, 00:13:26.95\00:13:27.92 they are more vulnerable absolutely, 00:13:27.93\00:13:29.39 so that the colon is a marvelous organ. 00:13:29.45\00:13:31.46 Any differences when you look at ethnic 00:13:31.53\00:13:34.98 groups or racial groups in terms of colon 00:13:35.13\00:13:38.11 health? In general, African Americans, 00:13:38.16\00:13:42.54 if they developed colon cancer they tend 00:13:42.82\00:13:45.02 to develop on the right side of the colon, 00:13:45.05\00:13:46.87 the right side of the colon, the right side 00:13:48.04\00:13:49.01 of the colon. Now let me just tell you 00:13:49.02\00:13:49.99 what the problem with that is, the right 00:13:50.00\00:13:53.20 side of the colon or the Cecum is more 00:13:53.23\00:13:55.77 expansile. And so, a tumor can grow to 00:13:56.09\00:13:59.53 a large size before the patient would have 00:13:59.56\00:14:02.62 symptoms, if it's on the left side, 00:14:02.68\00:14:05.47 that's more muscular and a little narrower, 00:14:05.85\00:14:08.67 so you're more likely to get changes, 00:14:09.07\00:14:11.24 and when we say a changein bowel habit, 00:14:11.38\00:14:12.88 that's one of the questions the doctor 00:14:12.94\00:14:13.91 will ask you, have you got any change in 00:14:13.92\00:14:15.16 bowel habits? Well you know my stool 00:14:15.20\00:14:17.40 used to be you know in good size and now 00:14:17.53\00:14:19.87 it's pencil thin, well that's already a red 00:14:19.94\00:14:22.75 flag, right, first go and look and with the 00:14:22.89\00:14:25.31 sigmoid, now sigmoidoscopy that's what 00:14:25.42\00:14:28.57 used to be done more common, 00:14:28.64\00:14:29.61 you can figure that out, you can see that 00:14:29.89\00:14:30.86 right away the sigmoidoscopy and so 00:14:30.87\00:14:32.00 most people say well I just got a 00:14:32.10\00:14:33.07 sigmoidoscopy done, under the fecal 00:14:33.08\00:14:35.02 occult blood test and then not have the 00:14:35.09\00:14:37.90 colonoscopy done, you don't see all the 00:14:37.93\00:14:39.34 way around to that right side and pick that 00:14:39.37\00:14:42.48 up, I see, you see so. So, especially if 00:14:42.51\00:14:47.00 you're an African American watching, 00:14:47.03\00:14:48.87 you got this prevention thing is even 00:14:49.05\00:14:51.00 larger. It's larger and it's important that 00:14:51.12\00:14:53.25 you get a colonoscopy and not just a 00:14:53.29\00:14:55.24 sigmoidoscopy and say well I had that 00:14:55.38\00:14:57.07 done and fecal occult blood test. 00:14:57.10\00:14:58.70 I did have a case during residency where 00:14:59.22\00:15:02.63 a patient, just a few months previously 00:15:02.66\00:15:05.69 had had a fecal occult blood test, 00:15:06.06\00:15:08.52 no blood, no problem, and then presented 00:15:08.68\00:15:10.71 with abdominal pain near perforation of a 00:15:10.74\00:15:13.46 right sided colon cancer. Wow, we're 00:15:13.49\00:15:16.66 talking with Dr. Christine Salter, 00:15:16.81\00:15:18.89 she is a specialist in family medicine. 00:15:19.51\00:15:21.38 We're talking about colon cancer. 00:15:21.41\00:15:23.07 We've talked about some of the bad news 00:15:23.17\00:15:25.34 but also some good news we can 00:15:25.37\00:15:26.70 prevent largely prevent, if we know the 00:15:26.81\00:15:30.01 health of our colons. We've talked about that, 00:15:30.30\00:15:32.34 but there are some other things you can 00:15:32.46\00:15:33.62 do and you need to hear about those, 00:15:33.74\00:15:35.04 so join us when we come back. 00:15:35.09\00:15:36.73 Are you confused about the endless 00:15:39.58\00:15:41.62 strain with new and often contradictory 00:15:41.65\00:15:43.80 health information? With companies trying 00:15:43.83\00:15:46.38 to sell new drugs and special interest groups 00:15:46.41\00:15:48.81 paying for studies that spin the fact, 00:15:48.84\00:15:50.74 where can you find a common sense 00:15:51.28\00:15:52.96 approach to health. One way is to ask 00:15:52.99\00:15:55.34 for your free copy of Dr. Arnott's 24 00:15:55.40\00:15:58.01 realistic ways to improve your health. 00:15:58.10\00:16:00.13 Dr. Timothy Arnott and the Lifestyle 00:16:00.31\00:16:02.33 Center of America produced this helpful 00:16:02.37\00:16:04.13 booklet of 24 short practical health 00:16:04.16\00:16:06.64 tips based on scientific research and 00:16:06.74\00:16:08.73 the Bible, that will help you live longer, 00:16:08.76\00:16:10.97 happier, and healthier. For example, 00:16:11.18\00:16:13.52 did you know that women who drink more 00:16:13.83\00:16:15.44 water lower the risk of heart attack or 00:16:15.47\00:16:18.11 the seven to eight hours of sleep a 00:16:18.14\00:16:19.65 night can minimize your risk of ever 00:16:19.68\00:16:21.36 developing diabetes. Find out how to 00:16:21.49\00:16:24.06 lower your blood pressure and much more. 00:16:24.14\00:16:26.02 If you're looking for help, not hike then 00:16:26.15\00:16:27.86 this booklet is for you. Just log on to 00:16:27.89\00:16:30.11 3abn.org and click on free offers or 00:16:30.16\00:16:33.13 call us during regular business hours, 00:16:33.19\00:16:35.08 you'll be glad you did. 00:16:35.48\00:16:36.74 Welcome back we've been talking with 00:16:39.78\00:16:40.99 Dr. Christine Salter. We've been talking 00:16:41.02\00:16:42.71 about colon cancer, colon health and 00:16:42.74\00:16:45.49 before the break doctor we were talking 00:16:45.71\00:16:47.39 about all these different things that plague 00:16:47.42\00:16:50.28 Americans and people around the world, 00:16:50.37\00:16:51.89 you said colon cancer is the number three, 00:16:52.12\00:16:54.06 yes, cause of death and it's largely 00:16:54.35\00:16:56.80 avoidable. It's not that people are not 00:16:57.28\00:16:59.07 going to get colon cancer because they 00:16:59.14\00:17:00.70 will sadly because of many factors, 00:17:00.73\00:17:02.86 right, but they can discover it and it 00:17:03.11\00:17:04.52 has a, you know a quite a long time before 00:17:04.75\00:17:07.09 it can perforate or get to other areas 00:17:07.12\00:17:08.85 of the body, absolutely. So, if we have 00:17:08.88\00:17:10.46 those screenings you summarized the 00:17:10.90\00:17:13.32 different ones we can do, then we can 00:17:13.35\00:17:16.92 many times catch it, absolutely, that's 00:17:16.95\00:17:19.34 good news. You know and I, and I should 00:17:19.37\00:17:21.43 recommend and prefer a colonoscopy, 00:17:21.55\00:17:23.71 because then you get the entire colon 00:17:24.16\00:17:26.57 visualized all the way around to the small 00:17:26.67\00:17:29.38 intestine. So I prefer that and pretty 00:17:29.41\00:17:32.75 much I routinely that's what I sent my 00:17:32.78\00:17:34.43 patient to Barnes Hospital to get their 00:17:34.53\00:17:36.97 colonoscopy done. Okay, now this section, 00:17:37.85\00:17:41.80 we want to talk about other things we can 00:17:41.83\00:17:43.45 do to maybe number one avoid colon 00:17:43.48\00:17:45.51 cancer to begin with, or if we have a 00:17:45.56\00:17:48.12 problem with our colon do you know 00:17:48.20\00:17:49.47 how to take care of that but what are 00:17:49.55\00:17:51.04 some lifestyle factors as they relate to the 00:17:51.13\00:17:52.99 health of the colon. Okay, well, there are 00:17:53.12\00:17:56.10 some very common things that people 00:17:56.13\00:17:57.75 are doing, cigarette smoking. Cigarette 00:17:57.78\00:18:01.01 smoking has been shown to increase the 00:18:01.11\00:18:03.10 risk for colon cancer. And how does that 00:18:03.13\00:18:05.93 work? This carcinogen, you know it's they, 00:18:06.08\00:18:10.52 tobacco smoke contain carcinogens which 00:18:11.09\00:18:13.83 damage the cells. How do they get into 00:18:14.02\00:18:16.49 the colon, 'cause I don't smoke with my, 00:18:16.52\00:18:18.23 I don't smoke you know going down in my 00:18:18.95\00:18:20.49 stomach? Okay well, you're inhaling it but 00:18:20.52\00:18:23.26 it gets absorbed once it's inhaled it gets 00:18:23.29\00:18:25.70 absorbed all the way in right, okay. 00:18:25.81\00:18:27.99 I thought man you know, it's like a 00:18:28.72\00:18:30.53 funny saying, it just sounded like a 00:18:30.56\00:18:32.64 pretty odd saying, okay. So, but it' just 00:18:32.70\00:18:35.24 gets absorbed when you smoke it just 00:18:35.27\00:18:36.99 goes everywhere in your body. 00:18:37.02\00:18:38.12 It gets inhaled all the way. Cigarette 00:18:38.23\00:18:42.13 smoking is linked with many diseases. 00:18:42.21\00:18:44.67 Not just people think of lung cancer, 00:18:45.22\00:18:47.01 it's one of the number one risk factors 00:18:47.27\00:18:48.68 for heart disease. So it kind of seeps 00:18:48.72\00:18:52.23 in there, so just stop smoking if you 00:18:52.26\00:18:53.87 want a healthy colon, stop smoking and 00:18:53.90\00:18:56.67 not just active smoking but passive 00:18:56.72\00:18:58.58 smoking, don't hang around people that 00:18:58.61\00:19:00.87 smoke, don't hang around with people who 00:19:00.90\00:19:02.14 smoke, because it puts you at a significant 00:19:02.17\00:19:04.78 risk. And what are the numbers you know 00:19:04.81\00:19:07.69 like you know, if you're hanging around 00:19:07.77\00:19:09.06 people that smoke verses not, 00:19:09.09\00:19:10.37 what happens to that person in terms 00:19:10.40\00:19:11.62 of colon cancer? Don't know the numbers 00:19:11.65\00:19:14.74 for colon cancer, but it's significant, 00:19:15.49\00:19:16.94 but it's significant because smoke is 00:19:17.00\00:19:18.95 smoke, whether you're doing it or 00:19:18.98\00:19:20.12 whether you're sitting there, inhaling it 00:19:20.22\00:19:22.00 from someone else. Is it just cigarette 00:19:22.03\00:19:23.44 smoke or what if I'm barbequing my 00:19:23.60\00:19:26.90 roasted tofu on whatever? Okay, grilling 00:19:26.93\00:19:30.45 and burning food that specially that is 00:19:30.61\00:19:34.48 high in fat, so red meat or even tofu meat 00:19:34.51\00:19:38.79 they become carcinogens. So and 00:19:39.28\00:19:43.30 then that's the other one coming to is 00:19:43.41\00:19:44.91 red meat, okay so that's something you 00:19:44.94\00:19:46.97 does go down that element that can help, 00:19:47.01\00:19:49.07 that does going there red meat. We used to 00:19:49.10\00:19:51.47 think that it was fiber, fiber is important 00:19:51.50\00:19:54.70 for colon health. The studies are inconclusive, 00:19:54.79\00:19:58.86 when they do the randomized double-blind 00:19:59.41\00:20:00.69 controlled trials. We know that fiber is 00:20:00.76\00:20:02.69 important but even more than fiber 00:20:02.72\00:20:04.59 red meat has been definitely through 00:20:05.38\00:20:08.31 research studies to colon cancer. 00:20:08.34\00:20:11.07 So if you smoke and eat a steak everyday 00:20:11.24\00:20:14.53 or some other kind of red meat you are 00:20:15.29\00:20:18.17 significantly increasing your risk for colon 00:20:18.24\00:20:20.78 cancer and then if you add alcohol to that, 00:20:20.83\00:20:23.92 your risk goes up even more, and why is 00:20:24.88\00:20:27.87 that? Alcohol, just messes up any cell it 00:20:27.98\00:20:32.06 touches. Well, you know, when it comes to 00:20:32.09\00:20:33.68 cancer; we talk about an initiator and a 00:20:34.08\00:20:37.93 promoter, okay, okay. So, alcohol in some 00:20:37.96\00:20:42.79 conditions can be and a promoter, 00:20:42.82\00:20:47.00 so something can come in and initiate but 00:20:47.55\00:20:50.14 then alcohol will kind of fund the flames and 00:20:50.31\00:20:52.31 keep things moving along and keep that 00:20:52.35\00:20:54.66 damage and going on. So if we smoke that 00:20:54.69\00:20:57.39 might initiated it with giving the tars or 00:20:57.42\00:20:59.14 the toxins, right, and then or the red meat 00:20:59.17\00:21:01.34 might initiate it with all the cancerous 00:21:01.37\00:21:03.25 things in the blood, exactly, because and 00:21:03.28\00:21:06.82 then alcohol just kind of, it just funds the 00:21:07.20\00:21:10.56 flames and moves things along and continues 00:21:10.64\00:21:14.50 those cells abnormally dividing. So if you 00:21:15.21\00:21:18.37 see someone with, supposed, called a 00:21:18.40\00:21:20.56 beer belly that's having a cigarette at the 00:21:20.59\00:21:23.68 steak shop, they're in danger for sure, 00:21:23.72\00:21:26.00 they're in big danger. And then if you, 00:21:26.09\00:21:28.72 then if you add to that not eat enough 00:21:28.88\00:21:32.44 fruits and vegetables, a diet that's high in 00:21:32.47\00:21:35.25 fruit and vegetables they're found it lowers 00:21:35.36\00:21:38.51 the risk for colon cancer, and it does that 00:21:38.54\00:21:41.71 through, through the phytonutrients 00:21:41.87\00:21:44.23 and the vitamins, the fat and nutrients that 00:21:44.64\00:21:47.45 is so protective and the antioxidants that 00:21:47.48\00:21:49.73 are protected to the cells, because the 00:21:49.76\00:21:51.91 cells are constantly changing, they're 00:21:51.94\00:21:54.49 constantly being attacked and damaged, 00:21:54.52\00:21:56.90 that's given. But if they're not able to 00:21:57.13\00:21:59.65 regenerate having adequate antioxidants 00:21:59.71\00:22:02.80 around then we really do have a problem. 00:22:02.83\00:22:05.05 You know the bile, the bile salts that come 00:22:06.10\00:22:08.76 through, they especially if you're 00:22:08.98\00:22:10.69 constipated and they're sitting a long time 00:22:10.72\00:22:12.52 in the colon they damaged those little 00:22:12.55\00:22:14.63 colonocytes. And so then if you have a 00:22:14.76\00:22:17.14 low fiber diet and the colonocytes don't 00:22:17.17\00:22:19.43 have the nutrition to regenerate, 00:22:19.47\00:22:21.09 and you're getting the toxins from the 00:22:21.82\00:22:23.64 smoke and the toxins from the red meat 00:22:23.71\00:22:26.70 and then you don't have the antioxidants 00:22:28.25\00:22:30.12 from the fresh fruit and vegetables you've 00:22:30.15\00:22:32.42 got the perfect set up for cancer to occur. 00:22:32.45\00:22:35.33 Okay, let's talk about some of those 00:22:35.91\00:22:37.06 foods then you would highly recommend 00:22:37.11\00:22:38.73 you know we've talk about you said several 00:22:38.80\00:22:40.39 things you said if you want to have good 00:22:40.42\00:22:41.73 colon health you drink a lot of water, 00:22:41.84\00:22:43.96 absolutely. How much water do I drink? 00:22:44.24\00:22:46.54 You know it varies depending on what 00:22:47.15\00:22:48.69 your diet is like, if you have a water based 00:22:48.72\00:22:51.02 diet, which means you eat lots of fruits 00:22:51.05\00:22:52.77 and vegetables, water chestnuts, 00:22:52.80\00:22:54.24 that's too, yeah okay fruits and vegetables, 00:22:55.09\00:22:57.97 lot of water, okay fruits vegetables drink 00:22:58.04\00:22:59.01 then, you know then we say you know 00:22:59.02\00:23:00.66 eight glasses of water a day enough to 00:23:00.69\00:23:03.08 keep you're impale, okay, okay. 00:23:03.11\00:23:05.23 So, sufficient water, sufficient water, 00:23:05.63\00:23:08.33 and then you said also that we have to 00:23:08.49\00:23:10.73 have fruits and vegetables what are we 00:23:10.76\00:23:12.78 talking about six water melons, 00:23:12.81\00:23:14.19 14 tomatoes, what are we, you know 00:23:14.22\00:23:16.01 those numbers, those numbers keep 00:23:16.09\00:23:18.46 changing, now they're saying 8 to 11 00:23:18.56\00:23:21.06 servings of fruit and vegetables. 00:23:21.11\00:23:22.56 And the serving is what, how much is a 00:23:22.59\00:23:23.90 serving? You know serving a medium size 00:23:23.93\00:23:26.03 apple, is a serving, a cup of fresh 00:23:26.18\00:23:29.65 vegetables is a serving. So if you had a 00:23:29.68\00:23:31.69 large salad you may have two three 00:23:31.72\00:23:33.30 servings right there, okay, okay. 00:23:33.33\00:23:35.63 but the, because the quality of the food is 00:23:37.46\00:23:39.10 not the same the numbers of fruits and 00:23:39.18\00:23:41.55 vegetables you need to take in are increasing 00:23:41.58\00:23:44.39 and so people may need to have supplements 00:23:44.57\00:23:46.37 too, some good food based supplements. 00:23:46.47\00:23:48.80 And then high fiber foods, what are those? 00:23:48.83\00:23:51.41 I mean fruits and vegetables have got 00:23:51.44\00:23:52.95 fibers if they got the skins on them, 00:23:52.98\00:23:54.41 they got the pulp in them, absolutely, 00:23:54.46\00:23:56.57 legumes, legumes, okay, lentils, chickpeas, 00:23:56.85\00:24:00.52 beans, even mash potatoes, not mash 00:24:01.15\00:24:03.88 potatoes, unless you have the skin on 00:24:03.98\00:24:05.93 that, okay, but don't think about mashed 00:24:05.96\00:24:08.39 white potatoes is that they are high 00:24:08.45\00:24:11.32 glycemic and promote lot of insulin, 00:24:11.36\00:24:13.24 and insulin is a growth factor for cancer 00:24:13.27\00:24:16.88 and other processes, okay. So, so, I 00:24:16.92\00:24:19.89 mean you got to, sweet potato, right 00:24:19.92\00:24:22.26 sweet potato, yeah, so you could become 00:24:22.43\00:24:24.48 a fake meat and sweet potato man. 00:24:24.56\00:24:26.77 Sort of meat and potatoes man, alright. 00:24:27.29\00:24:30.06 So, we've talked about the foods and 00:24:30.17\00:24:32.58 the fruits and we've talked about the 00:24:32.61\00:24:33.95 fluid and then avoiding especially red meat, 00:24:33.98\00:24:39.14 especially red meats, it's the protein and 00:24:39.56\00:24:43.35 the fat in those meats. Fats are highly 00:24:43.38\00:24:47.60 unstable and then when they're cooked 00:24:47.63\00:24:50.69 they produce what are called nitrosamines 00:24:51.32\00:24:53.54 and they, those are directly toxic, okay, 00:24:54.23\00:24:57.45 and so if you're eating a lot of red meat 00:24:57.48\00:24:59.83 that could be very problematic. 00:25:00.62\00:25:02.64 And so I would encourage people to 00:25:03.44\00:25:05.38 significantly decrease the red meat and 00:25:06.17\00:25:08.18 on the new food permit red meat's right 00:25:08.37\00:25:10.67 at the very top and to my patients I say 00:25:10.79\00:25:13.12 monthly if at all, okay monthly if at all 00:25:13.15\00:25:17.60 and but many of them turn that permit 00:25:17.76\00:25:19.90 upside down and those things at the very 00:25:19.93\00:25:22.34 top become their foundational foods and 00:25:22.40\00:25:24.54 those are the very foods that are a problem. 00:25:24.57\00:25:27.49 You know you probably serve different 00:25:28.22\00:25:29.41 populations there in St. Louis, what about 00:25:29.44\00:25:31.42 the African American Community, 00:25:31.45\00:25:33.07 the Asian Community what are, are there 00:25:33.10\00:25:34.58 any differences in those different groups 00:25:34.61\00:25:36.15 you've talked to, typically the African 00:25:36.18\00:25:38.14 Americans you see what are the foods 00:25:38.21\00:25:39.46 you talked to them about avoiding? Well you 00:25:39.49\00:25:41.43 see they eat lot of fried foods, a lot of 00:25:41.46\00:25:44.08 organ meats and a lot of pork and they 00:25:44.25\00:25:49.07 do a lot of barbecuing and I will discourage 00:25:49.10\00:25:52.04 that. And then your Asian population, 00:25:52.08\00:25:54.32 don't have lot of Asians but they tend to 00:25:55.20\00:25:57.62 do also a lot of fried foods, okay, and so 00:25:57.65\00:26:01.32 foods that already unstable and they also 00:26:01.35\00:26:04.24 eat a lot of meat, lot of fried foods, 00:26:04.27\00:26:06.11 lot of cooked meats. And then the Caucasians, 00:26:06.21\00:26:09.86 what, what are their issues? It really is 00:26:09.95\00:26:12.56 the same, about the same, you know it's, 00:26:12.59\00:26:13.93 and in America that's the way it is, 00:26:13.96\00:26:15.35 fried foods and, it's fried foods you know 00:26:15.43\00:26:17.40 they did a large study, a large epidemiological 00:26:17.43\00:26:20.27 study of 70,000 people and the diet, 00:26:20.30\00:26:23.98 cookies, donuts, red meats, French fries, 00:26:24.43\00:26:27.91 sodas, they found that that was the very 00:26:28.13\00:26:30.79 diet that promoted colon cancer, 00:26:30.91\00:26:33.09 a diet that had whole grains fresh vegetables, 00:26:33.42\00:26:36.45 fruits, low fat dairy was more protective. 00:26:36.75\00:26:41.65 Any hope we've got about minute left any 00:26:42.92\00:26:44.95 hope for those people that already have 00:26:45.02\00:26:46.87 got the diagnosis of colon cancer, 00:26:46.96\00:26:49.30 what would you say to them? First of all 00:26:49.34\00:26:52.14 would be to put into place those things that 00:26:52.27\00:26:54.38 would have prevented it, make sure that 00:26:54.41\00:26:55.83 they change, that they radically change 00:26:55.93\00:26:57.61 their diet and lifestyle. Obesity is another 00:26:57.64\00:27:00.47 risk factor and so we want to make sure 00:27:00.86\00:27:02.71 they're exercising, making sure they are 00:27:02.74\00:27:04.20 taking lots of antioxidants and make 00:27:04.32\00:27:06.30 sure they're using superior food grade 00:27:06.33\00:27:09.19 supplements and that would make a big 00:27:09.29\00:27:12.02 difference. Well, we really have enjoyed 00:27:12.05\00:27:14.58 talking with you today doctor and you know 00:27:14.64\00:27:16.86 I'm sure your patients just love going to 00:27:17.80\00:27:20.39 see the doctor as much as you can do that, 00:27:20.42\00:27:22.46 as you're just a warm personality and we're 00:27:22.62\00:27:24.84 glad you could take time out of your busy 00:27:24.87\00:27:26.43 practice, you actually traveled today, 00:27:26.52\00:27:28.03 yes I did, I'm very happy, this is burden 00:27:28.32\00:27:30.56 I have so, I'm just very happy to come 00:27:30.70\00:27:33.59 and to show this and I want all people if 00:27:33.65\00:27:36.89 they're 50 or above to make sure they go 00:27:36.93\00:27:38.67 see their doctor, get screened and make 00:27:38.78\00:27:40.82 sure they implement this lifestyle. 00:27:40.85\00:27:42.48 Thank you for being with us and I'm sure 00:27:42.54\00:27:44.26 anyone watching would like to come and 00:27:44.29\00:27:45.55 see you in St. Louis but I'm sure 00:27:45.58\00:27:46.91 you're very busy. We're glad that you've 00:27:46.94\00:27:48.85 been with us as well. We hope that you 00:27:48.88\00:27:51.19 do get that screening and that you as a 00:27:51.22\00:27:53.38 result have Health that last for 00:27:53.56\00:27:55.28 a Lifetime. Thank you so much. 00:27:55.31\00:27:57.46