A recent study revealed that for every 10% increase in ultra-processed food consumption, the overall incidence of cancer increases by 2% and the incidence of ovarian cancer increases by 19%.
Breast cancer and ovarian cancer are representative female tumors and have the characteristic of being strongly influenced by family history.
However, recent research has shown that ultra-processed foods such as sausages and microwave ready foods can also increase the incidence of ovarian and breast cancer.
A research team at Imperial College London recently published on their website the results of a 10-year follow-up study on the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and the development of cancer among 200,000 adults aged between 40 and 69 year olds registered in the UK Biobank. .
“Ultra-processed foods” are foods that go through several stages of processing and can easily be cooked and consumed in the microwave. For modern people leading busy lives, ramen, frozen pizza, cereals, chocolate, sausages, etc. they are considered essential foods.
Ultra-processed foods are foods whose raw materials are not easily recognizable and contain additives such as preservatives, oil, sugar, salt, colorings and flavourings.
As a result of the analysis, for every 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed food, the overall incidence of cancer increased by 2% and the incidence of ovarian cancer increased by 19%.
Mortality rates increased even more significantly. For every 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods, overall cancer mortality increased by 6%, breast cancer mortality increased by 16%, and ovarian cancer mortality increased by 30%.
The research team analyzed that harmful substances or artificial additives generated during the process of processing and packaging food at high temperatures cause cancer.
In particular, the reason why the risk of ovarian and breast cancer is high is believed to be because ultra-processed foods have a high energy density and contain a large amount of sugar and fat.
Dr Kiaran Chang of Imperial College London warned: “Ultra-processed foods cause numerous diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, which can lead to premature death.”
He also stressed that consumption of refined carbohydrates such as flour and sugar should be reduced.
Identifying ultra-processed foods isn’t difficult. Just look at the list of food ingredients.
Dr. Jang said, “If we hear about food additives, emulsifiers, modified starches, flavor enhancers, high fructose corn syrup, etc. that we are not familiar with or are not commonly used in home cooking, c ‘There is a high probability that it is an ultra-processed food.’
This study was also published in “EClinical Medicine”, the online academic journal of the British medical journal Lancet.
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