Undoubtedly by doing good exercise we keep ourselves fit.
Similarly having a check on our food intake is also as important as doing exercise/yoga/etc., to keep us healthy or fit.
In this blog we will see what food from our diet that causes Cancer to be avoided. Puzzled to hear this ?
Indeed. Me too, puzzled when I heard this first that; food that causes cancer too.
Before going deep on food that causes cancer, let’s get into the facts of Deaths (in millions) caused by different kinds of Cancer, as per World Health Organization in 2018. Starting from Lung cancer to Stomach Cancer, death cases in millions represented graphically.
As per WHO, what causes cancer and how to avoid risk factors?
Cancer arises from the transformation of normal cells into tumour cells in a multistage process that generally progresses from a pre-cancerous lesion to a malignant tumour. These changes are the result of the interaction between a person’s genetic factors and 3 categories of external agents, including:
- Physical carcinogens, such as ultraviolet and ionizing radiation;
- Chemical carcinogens, such as asbestos, components of tobacco smoke, aflatoxin (a food contaminant), and arsenic (a drinking water contaminant); and
- Biological carcinogens, such as infections from certain viruses, bacteria, or parasites.
Ageing is another fundamental factor for the development of cancer. The incidence of cancer rises dramatically with age, most likely due to a build-up of risks for specific cancers that increase with age. The overall risk accumulation is combined with the tendency for cellular repair mechanisms to be less effective as a person grows older.
Many cancers have a high chance of cure if diagnosed early and treated adequately.
Avoiding risk factors
Modifying or avoiding key risk factors can significantly reduce the burden of cancer. These risk factors include:
- tobacco use (inclusive of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco)
- Obesity or over weight
- unhealthy diet or poor intake of vegetables and fruits
- lack of physical activity
- alcohol use
- sexually transmitted HPV-infection
- infection by hepatitis or other carcinogenic infections
- ionizing and ultraviolet radiation
- urban air pollution
- indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels.
However found some informative research articles for benefit of my blog readers and want to share with you my findings.
First let’s get into the long running list of cancer-causing food additives to avoid.
Then let’s see what food causes cancer and benefit that Organic food brings over the Non-organic or Conventional food.
After all, prevention is better than cure.
Let’s understand more on the cancer-causing food additives or food and cancer risk in our diet.
Top 8 Cancer causing food or Carcinogenic food additives that hits the list are as follows:
- Flame-retardant chemicals in drinks
Synthetic chemical (BVO alias Brominated vegetable oil), found in sports drinks and sodas. BVO bio-accumulates in fatty human tissue and even in breast milk, and can also cause iodine deficiency and nerve disorders.
2. Meat contaminated with dangerous drugs like ractopamine, Sodium Nitrate and other synthetic hormones
What is ractopamine?
Ractopamine hydrochloride is an additive put into animal feed. It belongs to a class of drugs called beta-agonists, according to Ben Bohrer, an assistant professor at the University of Guelph, and president of the Canadian Meat Science Association.
Ractopamine can be used on pork, cattle and turkeys. Animals that take the drug grow larger and leaner, and take less feed to get there. Anyone in factory farming can spend less money in feeding to get more meat from their animals. Source
Similar article on Ractopamine drug use in meat production.
Preservative causing cancer
Cancer causing food preservative like Nitrite or Sodium Nitrate that are added as preservatives to your chips, French fries, crackers, cookies, doughnuts, bacon, hot dogs, processed meat contributes to cancer.
3. Gelatin
Gelatin is banned nearly everywhere else in the world, why?
Gelatin is made from the body parts of infected and drugged animals that aren’t used for fast food, like muscles, hooves, feet, hides and connective tissues. It’s all boiled down (reduced), loaded with food coloring and sugar, sold as candy. Other countries ban gelatin, knowing how toxic it can be for humans to consume. You would not believe how many foods and candies contain gelatin.
Food items to the Gelatin list:
- Marsh mellows
- Pop-tarts w/ frosting
- Mini Wheats
- Other frosted cereal
- Jell-O
- Skittles, Star-bursts Jr, mints, Trident gum, M&M’s, Snicker bars
- Peeps
- Gummy worms/bears
- Yogurts
- Frozen vegetables (in a bag)
- Icing/frosting
- Cream cheese
- Sour cream
- Coffee, milk substitutes
- Lozenges
- Hostess cupcakes- Hostess brand
Gelatin is also used in fat reduced foods to simulate the feel of fat and to create volume without adding calories.
Non-Food Items Containing Gelatin:
- Shells of pharmaceutical capsules, gel capsule vitamins
- Thickening agent in many pharmaceuticals
- Implantable medical devices, such as in some bone void fillers.
- Various ointments.
4. Artificial food dyes
In America, nearly every food item that’s colorful is made with toxic industrial dyes, including children’s candy. From rainbow candies and red-tinted salmon to super-orange mac-n-cheese, toxic artificial colorants include yellow #5, yellow #6 and red #40, just to name a few.
5. Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
ADA is the chemical used in yoga mat, often found in commercially baked bread and serves as a whitening agent and dough conditioner. The World Health Organization (WHO) links ADA to disease.
6. Arsenic
Long-term arsenic consumption triggers cancer and heart disease. It’s on the top 10 list for WHO’s public health concerns. In the EU, arsenic is banned in livestock feed, but the FDA defends its use here, especially in poultry. Check your tap water too!
7. Olestra flavor enhancer
FDA-approved Olestra, a fat-free and calorie-free chemical used to bring out flavoring in fries, chips, frozen yogurt and all kinds of diet foods. Olestra puts the “die” back in diet. It causes gastrointestinal disease in children.
8. Potassium bromate (bromated flour)
In rats and mice Bromated flour causes thyroid and kidney cancer. There have been no significant human trials to either support or rule out the claim. Check those hamburger and hotdog buns for poison!
Stick with a whole food plant-based diet and you won’t need to worry about all these toxins that are added to processed food.
Similarly there are several research studies around food i.e. Organic vs Non-Organic(conventional) food and impact of pesticides over Non-Organic food leading to cancer.
Canned Food
Canned food of any kind is linked to Cancer, Obesity, Infertility, etc. Most probably cans are lined with BPA (Bisphenol-A). Though Can manufacturers claim that, Cans are BPA-Free (refer to packaging article here), the recent research from different groups show that replacement of BPA is as harmful as BPA. But only thing is, the alternatives used instead of BPA is not thoroughly tested for similar kind of tests as BPA.
An interesting article on how does Bisphenol impact health can be found here.
Similar article with details on harmful effects of BPA over humans can be found here.
Article with details on harmful effects of BPA-Free alternatives over humans can be found here.
Similar article with respect to Sea food and their impact over humans due to BPA presence in such sea food can be found here.
I was able to come across a research article that speaks of several products that we use in our day to day life and it’s level of BPA being consumed.
Though the article concluded saying as far as we use BPA less than this prescribed limit, we are safe to use BPA. But what is the way to measure such BPA intake ?
Have we given a thought that, other than food, what are the other sources through which we indirectly consume BPA ?
We don’t have a 360 degree view of such BPA consumption in our regular direct/indirect intake.
Overall we all could agree that, canned food of any kind is harmful, given the medical facts on increase in Heart disease, Obesity, Cancer, Infertility etc; since the human consumption of canned foods.
Conventional (Non-Organic) Vegetables & Fruits
Just to keep the weeds and insects away, pesticides are used in some countries. However countries like Europe is against certain weed killers used on vegetables and Fruits. Research says that, such non-organic Vegetables & fruits leads to infertility. Also such pesticides are linked indirectly to cancer too. Irrespective of we washing the fruits/vegetables before the consumption, pesticides in it doesn’t go away completely. So leaving the traces of pesticides in Vegetables & fruits indirectly leaves traces in our system ending up with cancer possibilities.
Conventionally produced foods use a kind of antibiotics and growth hormones in meat and are often full of additives that are known to be carcinogenic. The FDA regulates food additives. However, not all food additives catches their eyes as they are under pressure to flow through additives that may later prove harmful to humans. Countries across the globe prohibits carcinogenic additives, that the FDA still permits.
Pesticides in Conventional food cause autism
Some articles has mentioned that, pesticides cause autism as it’s associated to cognitive development problems. Chlorpyrifos, a common pesticide used in conventional US crops.
A reference to top eight Carcinogenic additives and ingredients banned nearly everywhere except US can be found here.
Processed or Refined White Sugar
My mom used to say, too much of anything is not good for health. That’s true for Sugar as well. Too much of refined white sugar leads to weight gain (obesity) which in turn could lead to Cancer (especially in Women as breast cancer).
Sugar is directly contributing to cancer cells (research over rats claims to be so). Click here for details.
As an alternate, take organic sugar (sugar in it’s raw form without any chemical processing).
Summary
As mentioned above, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. As we all know we have a price for what we eat or what we don’t bother (the risks involved in our food in take) to consider while eating. Cancer and diet through which we could still reverse the effect on cancer if cancer is in early stage. However in this blog as mentioned above, just being more aware on what food we consume is more important to prevent our health. Avoid certain food from diet that causes Cancer. Definite assessment required at our end given the outlined hazards on food intake. I haven’t listed the complete list of harmful food. But have covered as much as I can; for us to think and make a wise decision in choosing right food to eat.