Does processed food cause cancer?

This may be due to nitrites, which are added to many lunch meats, hams, hot dogs, and other processed meats. Some food processing, such as freezing and canning vegetables and fruits, can preserve vitamins and other components that may decrease cancer risk. read more

Processed meat has been classified as a ‘definite’ cause of cancer (or Group 1 carcinogen) – the same group that includes smoking and alcohol. And red meat is a ‘probable’ cause of cancer (or a Group 2a carcinogen) – the same group as shift work. read more

The additives used in processed foods can accumulate in your body over time. Eventually, such toxins cause damage at the cellular level and lead to diseases like cancer. When smoked foods are cooked at high temperatures, the nitrates are converted to the much more dangerous nitrites. read more

Whatever the underlying mechanism, there’s now sufficient evidence for IARC to rule that processed meat ‘definitely’ causes cancer, and that red meat ‘probably’ causes cancer. But to really understand what this means (and doesn’t mean), you need to know a bit about IARC’s categories. read more