Loading
We do not know whether ultra-processed food raises cancer risk because it makes people fat, or because of something in the food itself. Feeding volunteers matched diets for a few weeks and measuring cancer-relevant biology can tell the two apart.
The NIH inpatient trial by Hall (2019) showed people ate about 500 kcal/day more on an ultra-processed diet matched for macronutrients, supporting the adiposity route. Whether additives, emulsifiers, nitrites, sweeteners and packaging chemicals have direct effects on the gut microbiome, inflammation and DNA damage independent of energy intake is untested in humans. Controlled feeding with cancer-relevant intermediate endpoints is the only way to answer it before cohorts with 20-year follow-up mature, and it informs whether policy should target processing per se or energy density.
Shares Glycaemic index and glycaemic load, Red and processed meat reduction, Ultra-processed food and sugar-sweetened drinks, Dietary fibre and the gut microbiome for immunotherapy response.
Shares Ultra-processed food (NOVA group 4), Red and processed meat reduction, Prevention we already have is not deployed.
Shares Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States, Misinformation and unproven therapies, Prevention we already have is not deployed, Colorectal cancer.
Shares Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States, Prevention we already have is not deployed.
Shares Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States, Prevention we already have is not deployed.
Shares Gut microbiome diversity and composition, Dietary fibre and the gut microbiome for immunotherapy response.
Shares Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States, Prevention we already have is not deployed.
Shares Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States, Prevention we already have is not deployed.