PROCESSED FOODS IN RELATION WITH CANCER

The food we eat can affect our risk of developing several different types of cancer, including:

Bowel cancerStomach cancerMouth cancerFood pipe (gullet or oesophageal) cancerPROCESSED FOODS IN RELATION WITH CANCERProcessed FoodProcessed foods aren't just microwave meals and other ready meals. The term 'processed food' applies to any food that has been altered from its natural state in some way, either for safety reasons or convenience. This means you may be eating more processed food than you realize.Processed foods are foods that have been compromised by the addition of hormones, additives, preservatives, unnatural genetic material or other chemical or heat treatments that alter or destroy the natural healthy enzymes, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.The main goal of food processing is to lengthen the shelf life of foods so that larger amounts can be sold over time.

Processed FoodWhite wheat flour, especially bleached white flourRefined sugars (crystalline fructose, maltodextrin, dextrose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, maple syrup, date sugar, cane sugar, brown rice syrup, corn sugar, beet sugar, agave syrup, etc..)Margarine and other hydrogenated vegetable fatsRefined vegetable oilsArtificial sweetenersFood additivesCanned foodsBoxed foods such as meal mixes, cereal and pastaProcessed FoodSoft drinks and sugary "fruit" drinks, which are loaded with white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors and other food additives.Fast food, which is a source of trans fatsCheese food, packaged cakes and cookies, chips, snack food crackers and other junk foodProcessed meat products (sausage, bologna, bacon, packaged ham, and salami) if they contain artificial colors and soy fillers.Frozen foods such as TV dinner meals, fish sticks, pizza rolls and similar foodsProcessed FoodSoy products such as soy milk, soy cheese, soy protein isolate, and other processed soy foods. Natural soybeans taste horrible; it's Nature's way of warning about the dangers of soy. In order to make soy products edible, soy manufacturers have to add large amounts of sugar, MSG and other flavorings and spices.Powdered milk and eggs: Commercial milk powders contain oxysterols (oxidized cholesterol) in high amounts. The oxysterol free radicals have been suspected of being initiators of atherosclerotic plaques. Powdered eggs contain even more oxysterols.Processed MeatBy definition, processed meats refer to meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding chemical preservatives (think ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, luncheon meats, salami and so forth). They have been linked to a variety of chronic illness ranging from cancer to heart failure to premature death with many of these claims backed by scientific evidence.

Red and Processed Meat includes:Red meat includes:beeflambporkvealvenisongoatmutton

Red and Processed Meat includes:Processed meat refers to meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives. Processed meat includes:sausagesbaconham and cured meatPt

Red meat is a good source of protein, B vitamins and minerals, such as iron and zinc. Red meat can be included as part of a healthy balanced diet. However, eating too much may put you at increased risk of bowel cancer.

Eating lots of red or processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer.Around a quarter of bowel cancer cases in men, and around a sixth in women, are linked to eating red or processed meat. Bowel cancer risk increases by more than a quarter (28%) for every 120g of red meat eaten per day, and by almost a tenth (9%) for every 30g of processed meat eaten per day. Processed meat is more strongly linked to cancer risk than red meat.There are a few different ways red or processed meat could increase the risk of cancer. The biological reasons for the link between red or processed meat and cancer are still unclear, but it is likely that chemicals found in red and processed meat play a part.Red and processed meat contains chemicals that could cause cancer:Red and processed meat contains a red pigment called haem. Haem could irritate or damage the cells in the bowel. The cells divide much more than normal to compensate for this damage. This increases the chance that one of these cells could acquire changes that set it down the road to cancer. There is some evidence that the effects of haem could be countered by chlorophyll, found in green vegetables.Haem could stimulate the bacteria in our guts to produce chemicals called N-nitroso compounds, or NOCs. Many of these are known to cause cancer. Almost all red and processed meats contain more haem than white meats. This may explain why red and processed meats increase bowel cancer risk while white meats do not.

Haem is the pigment found in haemoglobin, the protein that makes our blood red and carries oxygen round our bodies. Its also the pigment that makes red meat red.Scientists, including the lateSheila Bingham, found that haem is broken down in our gut to form chemicals called N-nitroso compounds. These have been found to damage the DNA of the cells that line the digestive system. And DNA damage is the first step on the road to cancer.To complicate things a bit it seems, that when the lining of our gut senses its been damaged, it reacts by telling the existing cells to divide more rapidly to make new cells. This extra cell division might also increase the chances of cancer developing, because every time a cell divides, it runs the risk of making a copying error in its DNA.

Nitrites, nitrates and N-nitroso compoundsNitrites and nitrates are used to preserve processed meat and may explain why some studies find that processed meat increases the risk of cancer to a greater extent than red meat. In the bowel, nitrites are converted into N-nitroso compounds, which could cause cancer. One group of scientists analysed over 60 studies and found that nitrites, and foods rich in them, are linked to higher risks of stomach cancer.Heterocyclic amines & polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsCooking meat at high temperatures can produce harmful chemicals such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) , many of which can cause cancer. The presence of these chemicals may explain why some studies find that meat cooked at high temperatures such as grilling or barbequing might increase the risk of bowel cancer more than meats cooked at lower temperatures such as boiling or braising.