Not all ultraprocessed food is linked to deadly cancer – in fact, some pantry staples could even reduce your risk, according to a new study.
Eating cereals, flavoured yoghurts, supermarket bread and even baked beans may reduce the risk of bowel cancer by up to 28 per cent.
However ultraprocessed meats like hot dogs and bacon are linked to an eight per cent raised chance of developing the disease.
The US experts behind the research say the findings may ‘ease concerns’ about the cancer risk of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs).
Bowel cancer diagnoses among under-50s have surged in the UK since the early 1990s, rising by more than 50 per cent.
With more than 48,200 cases in Britain every year and 17,700 deaths, it is the nation’s second biggest cancer killer.
Studies have consistently found a link between the disease and UPFs, which contain artificial ingredients and high levels of fat and salt.
Yoghurts, cereal and wholemeal bread were all found to reduce the risk of the disease
One published last year suggested women who frequently consume the foods are 45 per cent more likely to develop potentially cancerous growths in the bowel.
Previous research has linked UPFs to at least 32 serious health conditions, including heart disease and dementia.
The new study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, examined the diets of 461,682 adults in the US aged between 50 and 71.
During a period of 18 years, 10,075 cases of bowel cancer were diagnosed.
Around half of the calories in the participants’ diets came from ultraprocessed food.
Processed foods also accounted for a third of fibre and calcium intake and almost a quarter of dairy consumption.
The scientists – led by the US National Cancer Institute – discovered that those who consumed the most UPFs overall were no more likely to develop bowel cancer than those who ate the least.
But they noticed a shift when they broke the foods down into specific categories.
Meat consumption was associated with a higher cancer risk; whether it came from UPF or non-UPF sources.
Each additional daily serving of processed meat was linked to an eight per cent increase in risk, compared with four per cent for non-UPF meat.
In contrast, an extra daily serving of UPF dairy – such as flavoured, sugary yoghurts or milkshakes – was associated with a 25 per cent lower risk, compared with a 10 per cent reduction from non-UPF sources.
An extra serving of supermarket wholemeal bread was linked to a 13 per cent lower risk, while an extra 10g per day of fibre from processed fibrous foods like baked beans saw a 28 per cent drop.
The authors said that this is because UPFs can still contain important nutrients.
Breakfast cereals, wholemeal bread and baked beans are all high in fibre, a nutrient that is proven to reduce bowel cancer risk.
However the researchers stressed that the findings have limitations and may not apply to the wider population, particularly because the study involved older adults.
Experts not involved in the study also welcomed the findings but urged caution.
Dr Rosiered Brownson-Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London, said the study adds ‘to the evidence that UPFs should not be considered as a single, uniform category’.
But, she added: ‘The findings should not be generalised to younger people. This is particularly important given the rise in early-onset [bowel] cancer, which this study cannot speak to.’
Dr Aisling Daly, a lecturer in nutrition at Oxford Brookes University, said that by identifying specific UPFs linked to a higher risk of bowel cancer the study may ‘ease concerns’ because the foods are not all the same.
Gunter Kuhnle, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, added that the findings are ‘not surprising’.
‘It confirms what has been known before: a diet low in fibre and high in processed meat is associated with an increased cancer risk,’ he said.
The findings came on the same day as a separate study published in JAMA Network Open, which found that people consuming the highest amounts of UPFs were 40 per cent more likely to have vascular brain injury detected on MRI scans.
This is when the brain is damaged by problems with blood vessels, or the veins that supply oxygen and nutrients to the brain tissue.
That study included 8,783 adults with an average age of around 58.
Its authors also cautioned that the research was observational and therefore cannot prove cause and effect.
Nevertheless, they wrote: ‘These findings extend previous studies on the association of UPF intake with adverse brain health outcomes.’
