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 Researchers examined data from dietary surveys completed by nearly
105,000 adults who didn’t have cancer. By the time half the
participants had been in the study for at least five years, 2,228
cancer cases had been diagnosed – including 739 breast cancers, 281
prostate cancers, and 153 colorectal cancers.
Every 10 percent increase in the amount of heavily processed foods
and drinks people consumed was associated with a 12 percent higher
risk of developing all cancers and an 11 percent higher risk of
developing breast cancer during the study, researchers report in The
BMJ.
“Consumers should not be alarmed at this stage, as these results
need to be confirmed,” said lead study author Bernard Srour of the
French Institute of Health and Medical Research INSERM in Paris.
But based on other research linking certain additives and chemicals
in processed foods to an increased risk of cancer and other health
problems, consumers should be cautious about what they eat and
drink, Srour said by email.
“Ultra-processed foods and beverages contain some food additives for
which carcinogenic effects are suspected such as titanium dioxide, a
white food pigment which can be found in some confectionaries,
chewing-gums, and biscuits,” Srour added. “Ultra-processed foods are
also often packaged in plastic which might contain contact materials
having controversial effects on health, such as bisphenol A (BPA).”
Study participants reported their dietary habits based on their
recollection of what they ate and drank over a 24-hour period in
surveys administered every six months. Over the first two years of
follow-up, people typically completed at least five surveys.
Compared with people who generally avoided heavily processed foods,
individuals who consumed lots of ultra-processed foods tended to be
younger, current smokers, and less active with limited education.
People who consumed the most heavily processed foods typically drank
a lot of sodas and other sugary beverages and ate lots of sugary,
fatty and starchy foods, the study found.
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The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how certain dietary habits might directly cause cancer, and it
was also too brief to diagnose some tumors that might be
slow-growing and take years to develop.
Participants were also generally more health-conscious and with
higher income and education levels than the typical person in
France, making it possible that results from this group might not
represent what would happen with other people.
It’s also not clear what it is about processed foods that might lead
to cancer, noted Martin Lajous, author of an accompanying editorial
and a researcher at the National Institute of Public Health in
Mexico City and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in
Boston.
While more research is needed to verify the connection between
processed foods in cancer, it’s possible that food additives,
certain nutrients or contaminants from packages or other factors
might have contributed to malignancies that developed, Lajous said
by email.
That said, plenty of evidence links a healthy diet to a lower risk
of cancer and other chronic diseases like diabetes and
cardiovascular disease, Lajous advised.
“Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes,
nuts and fish reduces the risk of cancer,” Lajous said.
“We know that some processed foods have a higher content of
saturated fat, added sugars, salt, and lower fiber,” Lajous added.
“This makes some processed foods unhealthy, so while we wait to know
whether unprocessed foods are linked to cancer or not, patients
should seek to increase their intake of healthy foods.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2G2VMlZ The BMJ, online February 14, 2018.
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