Mixed
Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a significantly increased risk of overall cancer and breast cancer.
This large-scale study indicates that increasing your intake of ultra-processed foods (like sugary drinks, packaged snacks, and processed meats) by 10% of your total diet is linked to a 12% higher risk of developing cancer and an 11% higher risk of breast cancer. To mitigate this risk, consider reducing the proportion of ultra-processed items in your diet and replacing them with less processed alternatives, as the specific processing artifacts and additives in these foods appear to contribute to cancer risk independent of basic nutritional content.
Ultra-processed food intake was associated with higher overall cancer risk (n=2228 cases; hazard ratio for a 10% increment in the proportion of ultra-processed food in the diet 1.12 (95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.18); P for trend<0.001) and breast cancer risk (n=739 cases; hazard ratio 1.11 (1.02 to 1.22); P for trend=0.02).
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (n=104,980) with long follow-up and rigorous adjustment for confounders, but remains observational.
Source
Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort
Thibault Fiolet et al. · BMJ · 2018
DOI 10.1136/bmj.k322
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