Nutrition experts are giving stern advice about four foods and one drink that they say may cause cancer.
Research has shown that a person’s diet can affect their chances of developing several types of cancer, and experts recommend eating whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes to lower the risk.
“People should strive to eat more nutritious foods, including eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day and choosing whole grain foods. [legumes] “Think beans, lentils and unsalted nuts and seeds,” Matthew Lambert, nutritionist and health information and promotion manager at the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), told the Daily Mail this week.
“These types of foods are high in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, which are especially important for lowering your risk of colon cancer,” Lambert added.
Lambert also shared a list of foods she avoids, including processed meats, alcohol, red meat, sugar and fried foods.
Processed meats
In 2015, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified processed meat as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, noting that “there is sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer”.
Processed meats are salted, cured, fermented, smoked or cooked in other ways to enhance flavour or preserve them, and some of these cooking methods can produce carcinogenic chemicals, according to the WHO.
Examples of processed meats include hot dogs, ham, sausage, corned beef, and beef jerky.
“The increased cancer risk from processed meat is very small,” Dr Duane Mellor, a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), told the Daily Mail. “The reported risk is 18% for every 50% consumed. [grams] Eating more bacon or sausage may sound like a lot, but it could translate into two extra cases of colon cancer for every 1,000 people who eat processed red meat.”
The American Heart Association recommends limiting your processed meat intake to 100 grams (about two servings) per week.
The American Institute for Cancer Research suggests replacing deli meats and cold cuts with fresh chicken or fish, bacon, chorizo and salami with spicy vegetarian sausages, and chili and soup sausages with beans, chickpeas or lentils.
alcohol
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, colorectum, liver, and breast.
“When it comes to alcohol, there are no health benefits to drinking it,” Lambert says, “but we recommend abstaining from alcohol, as even small amounts can increase your risk of cancer. For some types of cancer, alcohol is especially harmful if you are a smoker.”
The National Centers for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention recommends that women drink no more than one drink per day and men drink no more than two drinks per day. Adults 65 and older should drink no more than one drink per day.
Red meat
Also in 2015, IARC declared that red meats, including beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse and goat, are “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
“The strongest, but still limited“There is evidence showing an association between eating red meat and colorectal cancer, and also between eating red meat and pancreatic and prostate cancer,” IARC researchers wrote in their decision at the time.
Lambert explained that meat contains heme iron, which can promote the production of potentially carcinogenic chemicals.
“Haem, which contains iron and gives red meat its color, has been shown to potentially trigger the formation of carcinogenic compounds and damage the lining of the intestine, which may result in an increased risk of colorectal cancer,” Lambert said.
The WCRF recommends limiting red meat intake to three servings per week, which equates to about 350 to 500 grams.
Sweets and fried foods
According to the CDC, being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of 13 types of cancer.
“We encourage people to limit processed foods and foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt. This includes cakes, biscuits, pastries; [chips]”This includes sugary drinks and fast food like pizza and burgers,” Lambert told the Daily Mail.
“While there is no evidence that sweets directly cause cancer, even small amounts are high in calories and it is easy to eat too much, which may lead to weight gain over time,” he added.
