The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service As a result of conducting an online survey asking the question, the first place was cancer, followed by arthritis, high blood pressure, and dementia.
The causes of cancer are very diverse, but it has been found that an incorrect diet has a major impact.
In fact, numerous studies have shown that certain foods cause cancer.
What is cancer anyway?
Cancer is a disease that has been the number one cause of death in Korea for over 10 years.
Cancer is a disease that destroys the human body by ignoring the cycle in which cells should die, and can develop into any living tissue, and the origin of the disease is not even clear.
Cancer cells are known to be very difficult to cure once they are diagnosed, as cancer cells can migrate to other organs and proliferate, especially through blood or lymph.
worst foods that cause cancer
1. spicy food
Korea ranks 1st and 2nd in the incidence of gastric and colorectal cancer in the world, ranking very high.
Spicy and salty foods are said to relieve stress, or if you watch famous mukbangs, you can easily see them trying to eat spicy foods.
However, it is not conducive to health at all, and it irritates the gastric mucosa, which affects the development of gastric and colorectal cancers.
According to the National Cancer Information Center, people who ate a lot of salty foods had a 4.5 times higher risk of stomach cancer compared to people who didn’t eat salty foods.
Also, stimulant foods contain too much sodium, which is the main cause of high blood pressure, so it is recommended to eat as fresh as possible.
2. burnt food
It is often said that eating burnt food will “get cancer”, but this is true.
According to data from the British Food Standards Agency, blackened parts commonly seen in barbecued or grilled foods can be exposed to cancer due to the chemical component called acrylamide.
In addition, when meat is burned, group 1 carcinogens such as benzopyrene and heterocyclic amines are produced, which can cause cancer, and harmful chemicals and fine dust from using charcoal are also ingested.
The tighter the meat is roasted, the higher the concentration of carcinogens, so it is important to control the roasting properly.
3. Alcohol
When you drink alcohol, your liver breaks it down into acetaldehyde, a chemical that damages DNA, destroys cells, and creates tumors.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated alcohol as a class 1 carcinogen, and even 1 to 2 drinks a day is harmful.
Alcohol is a substance associated with cancer of the esophagus, liver, breast, colorectal and other cancers, and it is best to avoid alcohol to prevent and treat cancer.
4. Carbonated drinks
The carbonated drinks you find when you eat greasy food with a tangy taste or when you are thirsty are full of colors and flavorings.
Fructose in soda accelerates the progression of metabolic syndrome and causes diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer.
In addition, it is directly broken down and accumulated in the liver, causing fatty liver.
Fatty liver is thought to be caused by drinking a lot of alcohol, but there are cases where fatty liver is seen even in children who do not drink, mostly because of carbonated drinks.
5. Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs)
One study found that 80% of food sold in supermarkets was genetically modified.
Agricultural products, which started for mass production and distribution, are taking a deeper place on our tables than we think.
Examples include soy, corn, canola oil, milk, and sugar.
Genetically modified foods are artificially engineered foods that can damage a person’s immune system or overall health.
Therefore, when purchasing food, it is important to check whether it is genetically modified food on the product label.
Please be careful as soy sauce or cooking oil, which is made by compressing ingredients and destroys DNA or protein structure, is excluded from the label.
6. Processed meat
Processed meats, such as hot dogs, sausages, and hams, are carcinogenic in the process of making them.
Compounds formed during cooking at high temperatures cause cell damage and promote the development of cancer cells.
Processed meat was designated as a carcinogen in 2015.
A 2018 study found that increasing your intake of processed meat to 60 grams per day and red meat to 150 grams per day increased your risk of colorectal cancer by about 20%.
7. Hot drinks
Hot drinks may increase the risk of cancer.
Hot drinks above 65 degrees C are listed as carcinogens, and a 2015 paper of 39 studies found that people in Latin America and Asia who enjoyed hot drinks had a significantly higher risk of esophageal cancer.
People who drink hot drinks frequently have twice the risk of developing esophageal cancer compared to people who drink cold or less hot drinks.
Statistical data on the cause of death in Koreans have been released since 1983, and since then, cancer has been the undisputed number one.
In 2020, 27% of deaths were due to cancer, and the number is increasing.
There are many causes of cancer, but the one we can easily fix is our diet.
If you frequently consume the 7 foods introduced today, it would be good to stop all of them right away, but if it’s difficult, I hope you reduce it little by little.