Did you know that fresh vegetables can keep you fresh as well? Veggies actually can help you counteract the effects of aging, which is an important advantage in preventing colon cancer. Factors such as advanced age and family history can raise your risk of developing the disease. But lifestyle changes and precautions early in life—and a steady diet of fresh veggies—can lessen your later risk of this common cancer or help you catch it in its earliest stages, when it’s most treatable.

Nutritious food is your first line of defense, say UAB doctors. “We always recommend—for everybody, for various reasons, among them to decrease the risk of colon cancer—to eat a diet that’s high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables and low in saturated animal fat,” says J. Pablo Arnoletti, M.D., a UAB gastrointestinal surgeon. A variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that may play a role in cancer prevention. A multivitamin containing folic acid also can be beneficial.

Dr. Arnoletti is quick to add that cancer prevention should encompass more than mealtimes—and that eating right is only one habit that can help protect you. In addition to watching what you eat, he says that you should limit your consumption of alcohol. It’s also important to exercise regularly and avoid smoking. “Those are all very good measures for everybody, not only for the risk of colon cancer but for every other aspect of health,” he says.

Finally, Dr. Arnoletti advises that you should have regular screenings for colon cancer—even when you eat right, feel well, and have no risk factors for the disease. Generally, you should have a colonoscopy every 10 years starting at age 50. For more about colonoscopy options, see “Take Action Against Colorectal Cancer”