Ultra-processed foods already have the reputation of being some of the unhealthiest foods around. New research now adds to the mountain of evidence against consuming these kinds of food.
People who eat more ultra-processed foods are at a higher risk of developing cancer, researchers found. These are the foods with ingredients that are difficult to read on the labels, and do anything from sounding like a healthy option to making candy fizz in the mouth. Ultra-processed foods are generally packed with more calories, sodium and sugar, compared to normal processed foods, CNN reports.
Previous studies have stated that people who eat a lot of ultra-processed food tend to be more obese, and are more likely to have heart problems or diabetes. Consuming too much processed meats like hot dogs has also been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.
Researchers analyzed 24-hour dietary records of over 105,000 adults in the NutriNet-Sante cohort, a general population group based in France. The participants logged what they ate from a list of 3,300 food items that were classified according to how processed they were.
The results showed that a 10% increase in the ratio of ultra-processed foods consumed equaled a significant risk of greater than 10% for developing cancer in general, and breast cancer.
The study states, “Ultra-processed fats and sauces, sugary products and drinks were associated with an increased risk of overall cancer. Ultra-processed sugary products were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.”
Even when the researchers controlled for factors such as smoking and exercise, the cancer risk remained higher.
Mathilde Touvier, co-author on the study, said,
It was quite surprising, the strength of the results. They were really strongly associated, and we did many sensitive analysis and adjusted the findings for many co-factors, and still, the results here were quite concerning.
Touvier’s group intends to take a closer look at the connection between these foods and the heightened cancer risk they appear to cause. “The challenge now is to disentangle the different foods and understand this relationship to see what specifically is having this effect.”
The study was published in BMJ.
