The scary link between processed food and colon cancer in men

Although in many cases it is delicious - you already know that processed food is unhealthy.

in the best case scenario.

A new study has found a scary link between it and colon cancer, but there is one food that can counteract some of the harmful food's effects

Voila system!

health

04/09/2022

Sunday, September 04, 2022, 07:14 Updated: 09:16

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Campaign on the importance of early detection of colon cancer (preventive order)

Needless to say - processed food is much easier to prepare, certainly in the months when the children are at home (bye August and hello to the upcoming holidays), and this prevents many of us from paying attention to the labels on the packages, but it is important that everyone knows - it is unhealthy and can even be dangerous.

A team led by researchers from Tufts University and Harvard University recently discovered a link between the high consumption of highly processed foods and an increased risk of colon cancer.

In a study published Aug. 31 in the BMJ, researchers found that men who consumed high rates of ultra-processed foods had a 29 percent higher risk of developing colon cancer—a very common cancer—than men who consumed smaller amounts.

Surprisingly, they did not find the same association in women.

"We started to think that colon cancer might be the cancer most affected by diet compared to other cancers," said Lu Wang, the study's lead author and a doctoral student in the School of Nutrition Sciences and Policy.

"Processed meat, which falls into the category of ultra-processed foods, is a strong risk factor for colon cancer. Ultra-processed foods also contain added sugars and are low in fiber, which contributes to weight gain and obesity, and obesity is considered an established risk factor for colon cancer."

Unhealthy and even dangerous.

Processed hot dogs (Photo: ShutterStock)

The study analyzed more than 200,000 participants - 159,907 women and 46,341 men - across three large studies that assessed dietary intake and were conducted over more than 25 years.

Each participant received a food frequency questionnaire every four years, and was asked about the frequency of consumption of approximately 130 foods.

For the BMJ study, participants' intake of ultra-processed foods was graded on a scale ranging from lowest intake (1) to highest intake (5).

Those in the highest quintile were identified as having the highest risk of developing colon cancer.

Although there was a clear association identified for men, particularly in cases of colon cancer in the distal colon, the study did not find an increased risk for women who consumed higher amounts of ultra-processed foods.

There are also foods that are useful!

The analyzes revealed differences in the ways men and women consume ultra-processed foods and the potential risk of cancer.

Of the 206,000 participants followed for more than 25 years, the research team documented 1,294 cases of colon cancer among men, and 1,922 cases among women.

The team found the strongest link between colon cancer and ultra-processed foods among men who consumed ready-to-eat products based on meat, poultry or fish.

"These products include some processed meats such as hot dogs, bacon and fish cakes. This is consistent with our hypothesis," Wang said.

The team also found that higher consumption of sugary drinks, such as soda, fruit-based drinks and sweetened milk-based drinks, was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer in men.

However, not all highly processed foods are equally harmful in terms of colon cancer risk.

"We found an inverse association between highly processed dairy foods such as yogurt and risk of colon cancer in women," said Fang Zhang, a cancer epidemiologist and interim chair of the Division of Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science at the Friedman School.

neutralizes the effect.

Yogurt (Photo: ShutterStock)

Overall, there was no association between highly processed food consumption and the risk of colon cancer among women.

It is possible that the composition of the ultra-processed foods consumed by women may differ from that of men.

"Foods like yogurt can counteract the harmful effects of other types of ultra-processed foods on women," Zhang said.

Mingyang Song, senior author of the study and assistant professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University TH Chan School of Public Health added that "further research will need to determine whether there is a true gender difference in the association, or whether the findings in this study were due to chance or confounding variables."

"Cancer takes years or even decades to develop, and from our epidemiological studies, we have shown the potential latency effect - it takes years to see an effect of a particular exposure on cancer risk," the researchers said.

"Because of this long process,

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• Nutrition and diet

• Preventive nutrition

Tags

• Processed food

• snacks

• cancer

• Colorectal Cancer