The colon is part of your digestive system; as a matter of fact, it's the last part of the digestive system. It's also known as the large intestine, and its primary job is to remove water and salt from the waste that passes through it on the way to the rectum and, eventually, the toilet.
Your colon, like every other part of your body, is a highly tuned, job specific organ. You need to treat it well in order for it to function properly throughout your lifetime, and if you don't... you could be in for a world of pain. Because diseases of the colon are not pretty.
Diseases of the colon can run the gamut from run-of-the-mill diarrhea to Crohn's disease to Colitis to a true nightmare, Colorectal Cancer. This last is the worst of the diseases of the colon, since it is so painful and debilitating and so often fatal.
Colorectal cancer goes by several different names. It's also often called colon cancer or large bowel cancer. By any name, it is an horrible condition and disease, one that's responsible for nearly seven hundred thousand deaths a year in the United States alone. Overally it is the fifth deadliest cancer in the United States and third deadliest in the western world as a whole.
The cancer itself develops out of what are usually benign colon polyps. They can develop into cancer over time if diet or drinking habits (mostly alcohol) are not measured to prevent it. If you're suffering symptoms - loss of weight and appetite, fatigue, bloody stools, abdominal pain - you need to see a doctor and half a colonoscopy. This is the best method to identify the cancer before it spreads and becomes inoperable.
When it comes to this, the most nefarious of the diseases of the colon, the risk factors are the same as nearly every other kind of cancer or disease.
First, smoking. Women who smoke are more than forty percent more likely to develop colon cancer than those who don't smoke. With men it's a thirty percent bump.
Second, physical inactivity. If you're healthy - if you exercise regularly and get out into the fresh air for a bit each day - you'll be at lower risk of developing colorectal cancer than someone who lives like a shut-in.
Third, diet. If you eat a ton of red meat, you're putting yourself at risk. Humans shouldn't eat red meat more than twice a week, and every meal you have - no matter if the entree is red meat or lentils - should include fresh fruits and vegetables as well.
Follow that advice and you'll avoid most diseases of the colon.