A recent study suggests that increased levels of “good” cholesterol in the body may significantly reduce an individual’s risk to get colon cancer.

People identified with low levels of “good” cholesterol, technically known as high-density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol, are advised to adapt a healthy lifestyle to lessen their bowel cancer risk.

Dr. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, a researcher from National Institute for Public Health and Environment in Netherlands, said this recommendation should be done once the above finding is confirmed by other studies.

Decreasing the in-take of “bad” or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increasing the “good” cholesterol is a widely known method that can greatly reduce a person’s risk for heart disease. However, this recent study offers individuals another reason to give particular attention on their blood cholesterol levels.

The new study is published in an online journal, Gut, on March 7. Researchers involved in the study compared 1,238 healthy individuals to 1, 238 individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

The researchers analyzed the participants’ blood samples and dietary lifestyle through questionnaires provided.

They found out that individuals with highest levels of “good” cholesterol, as well as a certain body fat called apolipoprotein A had the smallest risk to develop colon cancer. However, it has seen no particular impact on rectal cancer.

The team of Bueno-de-Mesquita found that for every 16.6 mg/dL increase in HDL the risk to develop colon cancer was reduced by 22 percent. Meanwhile, for every 32 mg/dL increase in apolipoprotein A, the risk is reduced by 18 percent.

However, researchers said the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study had a limitation, which is a short follow-up period of only 3.8 years.