6 Foods That May Increase Your Risk of Cancer

May 23, 2024, 07:47 IST

Zeba Khan

Cancer is complex, you just never know what might trigger those tumour cells in the body and become lethal. While science still doesn’t have any definite answer to what causes it, here is a list of foods that medical experts suggest should be avoided. Some of these foods can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity, which are associated with certain types of cancer.

Processed Meats

Processed meat is any type of meat that’s been preserved by smoking, salting, curing, or canning. Any of these treatments that we give to the meat causes risk of cancer. So best to avoid these.

Fried Foods

When starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures, a compound called acrylamide is formed. This can happen during frying, baking, roasting, and toasting. Reportedly, acrylamide is found to be carcinogenic, it damages DNA and induces apoptosis, or cell death.

Overcooked Foods

If you are someone who grills, roasts, pan fries and barbecues a lot, let us tell you that’s not a healthy thing to do. The more brown your food looks, the worse it is for your body. To reduce your food from the risk of developing carcinogens, try using healthier cooking methods such as poaching, using a pressure cooker, baking or slow cooking.

Sugar and Refined Carbs

Sugary foods and refined carbs can indirectly increase your risk for cancer. So avoid sugar-sweetened beverages, white bread and rice, sugary cereals and switch to alternatives liked baked savoury, brown rice, whole wheat breads and etc.

Alcohol

When you consume alcohol, your liver breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde, a carcinogenic compound. It doesn’t do much good for your body’s immune function too, making it difficult for your body to target precancerous and cancerous cells.

Dairy

There’s some evidence that dairy may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Reports suggest that eating dairy increases levels of an insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). This is associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer.

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