9 everyday foods that can cause Cancer and other deadly diseases(Toxic Food Ingredients)

9 everyday foods that can cause Cancer and other deadly diseases(Toxic Food Ingredients)

Do you frequently consume ready-to-eat and packaged foods? Here’s why you could be at risk of cancer and other deadly diseases. All you want to know.

Processed foods and junk foods are loved by most people due to their irresistible taste and easy-to-consume appeal. However, what we probably know but often ignore is that these ready-to-eat snacks or foods with attractive packages contain harmful substances in the form of taste enhancers like MSG, food colourings to improve their appearance, preservatives that can affect heart health, or artificial sweeteners that can be carcinogenic for humans, to name a few. This could mean that what we are eating in our pleasure or busy times could be inviting a range of health disorders that could make lives tougher in the coming years or decades. (Also read: Switching from sugar to artificial sweeteners? Here are dos and don’ts to keep in mind)

Reading labels carefully can help you eliminate foods that have cancer-causing ingredients or that are putting you at risk of other deadly diseases. (Pixabay)

Reading labels carefully can help you eliminate foods that have cancer-causing ingredients or that are putting you at risk of other deadly diseases. (Pixabay)

Recently, WHO declared aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans, months after issuing an advisory of consumption of artificial sweeteners stating that they can do more harm than good and increase chronic disease risk from diabetes to heart disease. Artificial sweeteners have zero or very little calories that make them a tempting alternative to sugar for fitness enthusiasts and people with chronic diseases alike.

Reading labels carefully can help you eliminate foods that have cancer-causing ingredients or that are putting you at risk of other deadly diseases. Store-bought must be substituted by homemade wherever possible.

Dr James DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist and Doctor of Pharmacy at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri shares a list of 9 disease causing ingredients that can be found in everyday food.

1. Food colourings Yellow 5 and Yellow 6

Found in condiments, cheese, cereals, chips, cookies, and yellow-coloured drinks, Yellow 5 & 6 are the second and third most-used food colourings. Dozens of animal studies show an increased risk in kidney and intestinal tumours due to its use.

2. Vegetable oils

These inflammatory oils are in everything. Canola, soybean, corn, sunflower etc. They are found in: peanut butter, frozen foods, breads, chips, salad dressings, margarine etc.

3. Processed meat

Hot dogs, lunch meat, and canned meats are classified as a ‘Group 1’ carcinogen with ‘convincing evidence’ that they cause colorectal and stomach cancer. They contain nitrates and phosphates shown to stiffen arteries. Do yourself a favour and opt for fresh meat.

4. Sucralose

Found in diet sodas, dressings, syrups and energy drinks, sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is harmful to good gut bacteria. Sucralose may cause migraines, worsened moods and inflammation. ‘Zero sugar’ sounds great until you see it includes sucralose.

5. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Found in soups, frozen foods, chips, ‘beef flavouring’ and fast food. MSG is used to enhance a food’s flavour but it blocks signals telling your brain that you are full. You shouldn’t be eating foods that require a ‘flavour enhancer’ like MSG.

6. Dyes – Red 3 and Red 40

Red 40 is the most used dye in America. Linked to thyroid tumours in rats, a ban was proposed on Red 3 but was never implemented in America despite being banned entirely in the UK & Switzerland. These dyes are in cereals, pastries, cocktails and fruit snacks.

7. Azodicarbonamide

A common ingredient in most mass-produced bread-based products, Azodicarbonamide is used as a whitening agent in flour and to make bread more elastic. This ingredient causes lung and blood cancer in mice and is also linked to cancer in humans. Avoid this.

8. Sodium Phosphate

This additive keeps meats moist and tender during storage (red flag). Inorganic phosphate is easily absorbed by the body and increases the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. It is linked to kidney disease, weaker bones, and premature death.

9. Caramel colouring

Sounds harmless, right? I thought so too. ‘Caramel colouring’ is made by combining sugar with ammonia (producing carcinogens). Proven to cause cancer in animals and is likely the same in humans. Just another reason to stop drinking soda.