Ultra-processed foods promote cancer

Reducing the amount of ultra-processed foods we eat reduces the risk of several types of cancer. – Unsplash / Fikri Rashid

Reducing the amount of ultra-processed foods we eat reduces the risk of several types of cancer. – Unsplash / Fikri Rashid

Eating less processed products protects against cancer. That’s what it suggests study appeared in The Lancet Planetary Health. The Lancet Planet Health This month in March, coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Soft drinks, nuggets and cordons, flavored yogurts, sandwich breads, artificial cakes and brioches, puddings, dessert creams, etc. Supermarket shelves are full of ultra-processed foods. Scientists have shown that if we replace our diet with 10 The percentage of these foods with an equal amount of minimally processed foods—fruits, vegetables, legumes, and fresh milk—was reduced overall cancer risk, and especially postmenopausal risk of liver, colon, esophagus, and breast cancer.

He studied 450,000 people

To get this result, they used a European cohort of 450,000 people and studied the links between cancers and the level of food processing. It is, as far as its authors are aware, the largest study to date linking cancer to the level of food processing.

“ This study provides strong evidence that replacing processed and processed foods with an equal amount of minimally processed foods should be an important goal of cancer prevention strategies in public health, although more research is needed to understand how best to achieve this type of diet. transition »Scientists say.