Truth About Cancer-Causing food kids love to eat

Can Bacon, Chicken Nuggets, Hot Dogs, and canned meat like Spam really cause cancer?

A new study, by the British Medical Journal, found that a 10 percent increase in the amount of ‘ultra-processed foods’ in a person’s diet was linked to a 12 percent increase in cancers of some kind [CNBC]. To find out, let’s check the most common ingredients found in processed food that kids love, might be cancerous.

Carrageenan

A gelatin-like extract of red seaweed that is sometimes used as a binder or a fat substitute. It is sometimes labeled as a natural “food-grade” and degraded carrageenan

What research show?
Research suggests that there may be no substantial difference between the two types of Carrageenan. However, it may induce harmful gastrointestinal effects such as inflammation, bloating, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS). [NCBI]

Hydrolyzed protein and MSG

A protein produced by boiling and breaking down vegetables, soy, wheat, or milk in hydrochloric acid into their component amino acids. It’s a flavor enhancer and actually contains Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).

Like MSG, this flavor enhancer that comes from an amino acid called glutamic acid has been used for hundreds of years and consumed as a seasoning by billions of Asians almost every day.

What research show?
To date, there is no conclusive evidence linking MSG to cancer. However, it can cause dizziness or headache according to a scientific review. What is obvious is that MSG should be taken sparingly.

Sodium nitrite

The name sounds nasty because it’s a curing ingredient that gives a pinkish color to preserve meat. It prevents bacteria that enable longer shelf life for the meat. Interestingly, 93% of daily nitrate comes from vegetables such as spinach, radishes, lettuce.

What research show?
Sodium nitrite is part of the normal nitrogen cycle in humans present in saliva. Therefore it should not be linked to cancer. However, studies have found a relationship between processed meat intake and risk of colorectal cancer, according to Amanda Cross.

Perhaps it is really the amount and frequency of sodium nitrate that links it to cancer. It’s sensible to think that if it works to preserve animal meat, taking it frequently is harmful to human cells.

If not these ‘scary’ ingredients, what is the direct cause of cancer when consuming processed food?

Nathan Bryan, a professor of integrated biology and pharmacology at the University of Texas explains how processed food is cooked. He points Bacon is an example of a potential health risk.

Among kid’s favorites, Bacon, which is very high in nitrite, is cooked at very high temperatures to get that crips children love. However, cooking at extremely high temperatures causes it to form nitrosamines. The same may be true for cooking at microwave ovens.

A new study published in the journal Cancer finds that high-temperature cooking methods may increase the risk of kidney cancer if you consume a lot of meat.

To avoid this hazard, it is recommended to cook bacon (or preserved meats) slowly and at low temperature, according to Professor Bryan.

The same may be true for other food children loves; like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, or spam, and with the recent invention of air fryers, we think cooking with less oil is healthier, the oil heated in high temperature may be carcinogenic.

What you should be worried about?

The World Cancer Research Fund and the IARC believe that being overweight is the biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking. Next is (fructose) sugar where research show appears to promote a more aggressive cancer phenotype.