Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. While cancer may be caused by a number of factors including heredity, environment, cigarette smoking, sun exposure and a lack of physical activity, research suggests that dietary factors play a significant role in cancer risk, especially for individuals with a strong family history of cancer. To help fight chronic diseases such as cancer, avoid these cancer-causing foods.
Sweetened Beverages
Sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks and juices are loaded with refined sugar and have a high glycemic load relative to other foods and drinks. Sugar is the preferred source of energy for carcinogens in the body and may help promote tumor growth or formation. These beverages pose many health risks, not only because of their high sugar content but also because they contain unhealthy additives. In addition, individuals who drink two or more sweetened beverages per day are using sugar to replace essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients they need in their diet.
Fried Foods
Fried foods such as French fries, potato chips and onion rings contain trans fats, which are unhealthy hydrogenated oils. Eating these foods regularly will raise your cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Additionally, these foods are fried at high temperatures. A byproduct of the deep-fat frying process is called acrylamide. Acrylamide is a carcinogen and neurotoxin, known to cause adverse effects throughout the body. You should avoid deep-fat-fried foods due to this potent cancer-causing agent.
Alcohol
Alcohol consumption is typically considered safe in moderation. However, if you drink in excess, you are putting yourself at risk for a number of different types of cancer, including cancer of the mouth, liver, breast, colon and esophagus. According to Newsmax Health, two or more drinks per day increased the risk of dying from breast cancer by 30 percent in postmenopausal women. This is because alcohol affects estrogen levels.
Charred Meats
Charred foods, especially meats, cooked at high temperatures create carcinogens called heterocyclic aromatic amines. When organic plant or animal products are burned, causing them to become blackened, toxins are released and mutagenic byproducts are formed. The longer the meat is cooked at high temperature, the higher the production of these compounds will be. It is possible that burning of other foods, such as toast, creates this same effect.
Snack Foods
Chips, crackers, cookies, cupcakes and other processed, packaged foods are generally unhealthy and should be avoided. These foods are made with white flour, salt, sugar and trans fat. Eating these snack foods will not only increase your risk of cancer but also cause weight gain and elevated cholesterol.
Cured Meats
Hot dogs contain a carcinogen called nitratosamine or nitrates. Other cured or processed meats that contain this compound include lunch meats, bacon and sausage. Due to this cancer-causing agent, children should limit their consumption of hot dogs and women should avoid them when pregnant. Some hot dogs and other meat products are made without nitrates.
Doughnuts
Doughnuts increase your risk of cancer in more than one way. First, doughnuts are made with white flour, sugar and hydrogenated oils. Then they are deep-fried at high temperatures. The high sugar content influences the body's production of insulin, encouraging the growth and division of cancerous cells, especially in the pancreas. The combination of dense sugar and high-fat ingredients with the carcinogenic byproducts of deep-fat frying make doughnuts the worst possible food you can eat to raise your risk of cancer.
Pickled Foods
Heavily salted and pickled foods have been linked to higher rates of stomach cancer. Pickling is a method of preserving food for later use. Examples of pickled foods include meats, vegetables, fish and eggs. With refrigeration, pickling is no longer a necessity but a preference.
Farmed Fish
Fish farming is the process of raising food fish commercially in tanks or enclosures. Farmed fish usually contain high levels of toxins and carcinogens such as polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs. PCBs are a class of manmade chemicals once used as an insulating material in electrical equipment. While fish farming has been banned in the United States, other countries continue to farm fish. For this reason, you should always choose wild fish, as fish allowed to swim freely are usually free of this cancer-causing agent.
Red Meat
Newsmax Health states that individuals who consume meat on a regular basis, especially red meat, have three times the risk of developing colon cancer as those who occasionally eat meat. Additionally, people who eat diets high in saturated fat are almost twice as likely to have their cancer progress; these foods include hamburgers, high-fat cheeses and steaks.
References
- NewmaxHealth.com; Avoid These 9 Cancer-Causing Foods ; Sylvia Booth Hubbard; August 19, 2010.
- Daily Top Ten List: Top Five Cancer-Causing Foods
- Disease Proof; Avoid These 10 Cancer-Causing Foods; Gerald Pugliese; September 15, 2008.
- National Cancer Institute: Acrylamide in Food and Cancer Risk; July 29, 2008.
