This article discusses changes you can make to your daily dietary habits that will not only enhance your health but will also provide you with knowledge of some potentially carcinogenic foods to avoid as part of your can:cer prevention efforts.
1. BPA Lined Cans
The ingredient found in hard plastics and resins is used to cover metal cans. Unless a canned item is labeled as BPA-free, it is likely to contain bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA can also be found in several plastics and dental composites.
2. Cured and Smoked Foods
Nitrates and nitrites work as preservatives, preventing food from deteriorating and adding color to meats. When cooked, nitrites and nitrates are converted into byproducts known as N-nitroso compounds, which include nitrosamines and nitrosamides.
N-nitroso compounds are linked to an increased risk of can:cer. Avoid processed meats such as bacon, sausages, hot dogs, pepperoni, prosciutto, beef jerky, and salami.
3. Farmed Fish
According to Food and Water Watch, farmed fish have higher amounts of chemical contaminants than wild fish, including PCBs, which are proven carcinogens. Overcrowding in fish farms makes fish more susceptible to disease, increasing the need for antibiotics. They are also more prone to marine lice, therefore they are routinely treated with pesticides.
4. Grilled Meat
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are created by specific types of combustion, such as coal or wood. A further issue arises when fat from meat drips onto a fire, causing a flare-up and smoke; this causes PAHs to attach themselves to the food you’re cooking, increasing your chance of carcinogenic exposure.
5. Hydrogenated Oils
Hydrogenated oils, generally known as trans fats, are a manufactured product. These oils have a chemical structure that has been altered to prevent the product from getting rancid and so increase its shelf life.
Trans fats cause immune system overactivity and inflammation and have been related to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, among other chronic disorders. Chemicals are employed not only to extract the oil from its source but also to disguise its odor and change its taste.
6. Microwave Popcorn
These bags are lined with perfluoroalkyls, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) to keep oil from soaking through the packaging. When heated, these chemicals seep into the popcorn, and when consumed, they appear as blood pollutants.
PFOA has been linked to canc:ers in animal organs (rat liver, pancreas, testicles, and mammary glands), as well as an increase in prostate can:cer among PFOA plant workers.
7. Non-Organic Fruits & Vegetables
Pesticides, herbicides, and GMO seeds are used in conventionally cultivated crops; pesticides, in particular, have been linked to an increased risk of can:cer. To understand more about the dangers of eating conventionally farmed food, see EWG’s 2015 “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce”
8. Processed Foods
Cured meats are strong in nitrites and nitrates, preservatives that, in big doses, may increase the risk of stomach and other can:cers. Processed foods are also high in white flour, sugars, oils, colors, flavorings, and other dangerous additives.
9. Refined Sugars
Sugar has been linked to a variety of difficulties, including unhealthy blood fat levels, low HDL levels, an increased risk of heart disease, higher blood triglyceride levels, obesity, immunological suppression, arthritis, and a lot of other problems. Can:cer cells also thrive on sugar.
10. Soda/Sports Drinks
Drinking soda or sports drinks provides little to no nutritional value. These beverages contain high fructose corn syrup, sugar, colors, brominated vegetable oil (a flame retardant), and aspartame, which has been linked to a higher risk of can:cer.
