Chronic Dehydration
and Colon Cancer
by Nancy Hearn, CNC

What is the connection between dehydration and colon cancer?

Colon cancer is a lifestyle-related disease and chronic dehydration is a key risk factor.  

Over 100,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer each year in the United States alone—and the numbers are growing.

All cancers are formed by changes or mutations in cellular DNA. With colon cancer, these mutations allow the malignant (cancer) cells in the host tissue of the large intestine to grow uncontrollably.

One Underlying Cause of Cancer

According to Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg, there are many secondary causes of cancer (often referred to as risk factors) but only one underlying cause of all cancer—oxygen deficiency to the cells.

Warburg discovered that whereas normal body cells require oxygen for respiration, cancer cells survive on the fermentation of sugar. 

Warburg further states that the primary reason for cellular oxygen deprivation is toxemia, the accumulation of acid and other metabolic waste surrounding the cells.

Toxemia affects cell-water turnover—limiting the excretion of toxins from inside the cells and inhibiting nutrient absorption.

When it comes to the colon, I think it is easy to comprehend that when water is lacking, toxins are not effectively flushed out on a daily basis and thus the colon cells are more likely to become oxygen deprived. 

This is why there is a connection between chronic dehydration and colon cancer. 

Dehydration and Colon Cancer Risk Factors

According to Hiromi Shinya, MD, America’s pre-eminent gastroenterologist and developer of the colonoscopy process, the highest risk factors for colon cancer are alcohol and tobacco.

However, chronic dehydration is also a high risk factor. According to Dr. Batmanghelidj in Obesity, Cancer, Depression:

“Cancer cells are anaerobic and can only live in low-oxygen and acidic environments—the exact outcomes of low water flow and inefficient environmental cleanup.”

Batmanghelidj also writes that cancer is the result of a “drastic disruption in several major control mechanisms in the body.”

It is unlikely that a single factor causes colon cancer, or any type of cancer for that matter.

But when we remember that the human body has over 100 trillion cells that are all dependent on adequate water for metabolic function, it is is easy to comprehend how dehydration and colon cancer might be linked.

Another key risk factor of colon cancer is a diet that is high in animal fat and sugar and low in fiber, such as fruits and vegetables.

Impaired Immunity

Many cancer specialists believe that the immune system effectively deals with malignant cells all the time, day in and day out.

In fact, according to Patrick Quillin, PhD, and others, the average adult experiences about six bouts of cancer in a lifetime.

Yet most people never know they have it because the immune system manages it below the level of "dis-ease" in the body and thus it is never diagnosed. Thank goodness.

However, when the immune system is severely impaired due to dehydration, poor diet, lack of exercise, high levels of mental or emotional stress, or high exposure to environmental toxins, the cancer cells can take over and begin to form a mass. 

Where the cancer cells accumulate and grow has much to do with the accumulation of toxins and nutrient deficient cells in the body.

In addition, according to Batmanghelidj, “Dehydration, directly and indirectly, suppresses the immune system, of all places, at the level of the bone marrow.”

Tumor Growth and Metastasis

It stands to reason that cancer forms in the colon because of an unhealthy state within the large intestine.

Most colon cancers are initiated as polyps or small benign growths (tumors) that may grow into malignant colon cancers over time.

This process could take months, years or even decades before any symptoms may appear. 

Some common types of polyps include:

• Inflammatory polyps: often appear after colon inflammation (colitis) and may become cancerous
• Adenomas: are usually removed during colonoscopy but can become cancerous if undetected
• Hyperplastic polyps: rarely become cancerous

Many medical specialists believe that after polyps or other tumors become malignant, the cancer cells may travel through the lymph system or blood to other parts of the body. This process is called metastasis.

However, some cancer specialists don’t necessarily agree that cancer “spreads” or metastasizes from one localized part of the body to another. 

Dr. Shinya writes: “The appearance of cancer somewhere means that most likely there are cancerous cells that have not yet grown into a tumor in other parts of the body. . . . Cancer is a full body disease that affects the body as a whole.”

Final Thoughts on Dehydration and Colon Cancer

I believe cancer, in general, is a full body disease rather than just a localized tumor.

Whether it is or is not, the better part of wisdom would be to treat it as if it were a whole body disease.

Thus, an effective cancer treatment program would include dietary and lifestyle changes (such as drinking enough water) to improve immunity and the internal environment of the body, especially the colon. 

Drinking enough clean water on a daily basis and eating primarily live, fresh food is the foundation of health and disease prevention.

Recommended video

Dr. Hiromi Shinya’s video on “Colon Therapy with Alkaline Water”

Editor's Note:  Even though this video is hard to watch, I can assure you, it will most likely inspire you to drink more clean water on a daily basis to keep your colon healthy.  It is visible proof of the benefits of drinking enough clean water to be fully hydrated.  

Dr. Shinya recommends alkaline, ionized water to his patients.

If the purchase of a water ionizer is not within your budget, the second best option is to drink filtered drinking water.

Bottom line:  Drink enough contaminant-free water to stay hydrated!

References

MedicalNewsToday.com; Colon Cancer: Causes, Symptoms and Treaments; 2016

Shinya, Hiromi, MD; The Enzyme Factor; 2005 

Quillin, Patrick, PhD, RD, CNS; Beating Cancer with Nutrition; 2005

Anderson, Mike; Healing Cancer from Inside Out; 2009

Further reading

Drinking Enough Water Facts and Recommendations

Return from Chronic Dehydration and Colon Cancer to Dehydration Effects of Water Loss