Research
Adherence
Reducing ultra-processed food intake after a colorectal cancer diagnosis is associated with lower cardiovascular disease mortality compared to maintaining or increasing UPF intake.
If you have had colorectal cancer, cutting back on ultra-processed foods after your diagnosis can significantly lower your risk of dying from heart disease. Even a moderate reduction (e.g., 2-3 servings per day less than before) is associated with better outcomes.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Patients who reduced their UPF intake after diagnosis with a median reduction of 2.7 servings/d from levels before diagnosis had lower CVD-specific mortality (Q1 vs. Q3: multivariable HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.45–0.92).
Why this rating
Prospective cohort data showing association between change in diet and outcome.
Source
Ultra-processed food consumption and mortality among patients with stages I–III colorectal cancer: a prospective cohort study
Dong Hang et al. · EClinicalMedicine · 2024
DOI 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102572
cohort · n=2498Cited 14×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- High post-diagnostic consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in patients with stages I–III colorectal cancer (CRC), but not with CRC-specific or all-cause mortality.Good
- Specific subgroups of ultra-processed foods, namely fats/condiments/sauces and ice cream/sherbet, are associated with increased cardiovascular and colorectal cancer-specific mortality, respectively, in CRC survivors.Good
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