One study found that people who eat a lot of highly processed foods are more likely to develop cancer.
Every 10 percent increase in highly processed foods in the diet has been linked to a 2 percent increase in cancer risk.
Examples of highly processed foods include packaged snacks, soft drinks, molded meat and ready meals.
According to a study, those who eat a lot of highly processed foods have a higher risk of developing Krebs to get sick.
The study lasted ten years and looked at almost 200,000 participants in the UK with an average age of 58 years. The researchers compared how much highly processed foods the study participants ate and how likely they were to develop one or more of 34 types of cancer.
In the study, highly processed foods included products such as soft drinks, processed bread, packaged sweet or savory snacks, muesli and cereals, processed meat – such as sausage or other cured meat products – and ready meals.
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According to the British Heart Foundation, highly processed foods “typically consist of five or more ingredients and contain additives such as preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners and artificial colors and flavors”.
This is the most recent study to date linking the consumption of highly processed foods to an increased risk of certain diseases.
A US study last year showed that men with the highest proportion of highly processed foods in their diet had a 29 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer to have.
The researchers of the new British study have now concluded that middle-aged adults with a high consumption of highly processed foods have a higher risk of developing cancer in general and cancers such as brain and ovarian cancer in particular.
Every 10 percent increase in highly processed foods in a participant’s diet was associated with a 2 percent higher risk of cancer — and a whopping 19 percent for ovarian cancer, the researchers said.
The death rate from cancer also increased when someone ate more highly processed foods. Every 10 percent increase was associated with a 6 percent higher risk of death—16 percent for breast cancer and 30 percent for ovarian cancer.
Kiara Chang, one of the authors of the study published in the journaleClinicalMedicine‘, said in a press release: ‘The average person in the UK gets more than half of their daily energy intake from highly processed foods.’
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“Highly processed foods are ubiquitous and heavily marketed with low prices and attractive packaging to encourage consumption. This shows that our food culture urgently needs to be reformed to guard once morest highly processed foods.”
We need more research on highly processed foods, says an expert
Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition at King’s College London, who was not involved in the study, highlighted the many statistically significant differences between those who eat the most and those who eat the least highly processed foods – whether they smoked, for example, overweight are or exercise regularly.
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He said that while this type of study might be useful in filtering out certain new risk factors for further investigation, the definition of highly processed foods is so vague that demonstrating a causal relationship is problematic.
Simon Steenson, a nutritionist with the British Nutrition Foundation, who was also not involved in the study, noted: “It’s possible that a higher proportion of highly processed foods in the diet is an indicator of an already poor diet.”
Poor dietary habits are often higher in calories, higher in saturated fats, salt and sugar, lower in fruit, vegetables and fibre, and lacking in important nutrients – all factors known to have a negative impact on health.
He continued, “One problem with the term ‘highly processed foods’ is that they can include common foods like packaged whole grain breads or low-sugar breakfast cereals—even though they contain essential nutrients like vitamins, essential minerals, and fiber.”
These foods “can be an important part of a healthy, balanced diet, while also being affordable and readily available,” he says.
This article was translated from English by Jannik Rade. You read the original here.