Now there’s more reason to eliminate ultra-processed foods in our eating regimen after researchers found one other downside to eating pre-cooked and quick meals. 

A recent study published within the weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal The BMJ on Wednesday reported in regards to the health risk of men consuming high amounts of ultra-processed foods. 

The team comprising researchers at Tufts University and Harvard University found a link between heavily processed foods and colorectal cancer in men. 

“We started off pondering that colorectal cancer may very well be the cancer most impacted by eating regimen in comparison with other cancer types,” lead creator Lu Wang said in a press release. 

The postdoctoral fellow on the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts continued, “Processed meats, most of which fall into the category of ultra-processed foods, are a robust risk factor for colorectal cancer. Ultra-processed foods are also high in added sugars and low in fiber, which contribute to weight gain and obesity, and obesity is a longtime risk factor for colorectal cancer.”

The team analyzed data from 200,000 participants — 159,907 women and 46,341 men — across three large studies assessing dietary intake up to now 25 years. A complete of 1,294 cases of colorectal cancer amongst men and 1,922 cases amongst women were documented through the study period. 

Every participant answered a food frequency questionnaire every 4 years. Within the questionnaire, they were asked in regards to the frequency of their consumption of about 130 food items. 

The scientists found after analyzing collected data that men who regularly consumed quick meals were at 29% higher risk for developing colorectal cancer than those that only ate processed foods in small amounts. They didn’t find the identical link in female participants. 

Colorectal or colon cancer is one among the more common varieties of cancer in men and ladies in the US. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 36 recent colon cancer cases were reported for each 100,000 people in 2019, the most recent 12 months for which incidence data were available. Moreover, 13 in 100,000 people died of this cancer that 12 months. 

Wang identified that there was a notable association between colorectal cancer and ultra-processed foods in men who regularly ate “sausages, bacon, ham, and fish cakes.” Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, like soda and sugary milk-based drinks, also appeared to have increased colorectal cancer risk in men.