We all know food is essential for keeping the overall body healthy and fit. Healthy food habits keep our body free from toxins, free radicals, nutrient deprivation, and certain diseases. On the other hand, unhealthy foods can cause adverse effects. Along with a sedentary lifestyle, eating unhealthy can cost you certain types of metabolic or cardiovascular problems. Apart from this, foods containing carcinogenic ingredients can increase the risk of certain cancers as well. The food for cancer patients must be void of such ingredients and to know that let's take a look at this article:
Highlights:
What are carcinogenic ingredients?
Food item containing carcinogenic ingredients
Other food for cancer patients to avoid
1. What are carcinogenic ingredients?
The carcinogenic word refers to those chemicals, substances, or agents which tends to cause cancer.
In the context of food items, there are around 2,500 chemical substances added in the food items for colour, stability, flavour, cost, or texture. These substances are approved and considered as "generally recognized as safe” (GRAS), except for suspected carcinogens. These substances are adulterants, preservatives, additives, or artificial colours. However, the use of these ingredients beyond the recommended levels may cause adverse effects.
Other than these, 12,000 substances utilized in such a way that these entries in the food items unintentionally. These substances are residues of pesticides or insecticides. These residues might damage the body cells and cause uncontrollable growth.
2. Food item containing carcinogenic ingredients
Refined white flour
Refined and highly processed flour bleached using harmful chlorine gas which can disturb the growth and functioning of your healthy cells. Also, food items made of refined white flour (white pasta and white bread) contain high carbohydrate content, which can significantly affect your blood sugar levels. The other most important thing is this flour lost its nutritional value upon refining. Therefore, it is better to avoid refined white flour.
Processed and packaged meat
These food items such as hot dogs, sausages, and many others have shown an association with increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Many of these items contain a substance sodium nitrite. This substance, when reached into the body, can react with amides or amines to form N-nitroso compounds (NOC), which is a carcinogen.
Refined sugar
If your refined sugar is obtained from the genetically modified sugar beets, it can enhance your insulin levels. This form of sugar can spike the growth of cancer and therefore don’t include this in your diet.
Microwave popcorn
Popcorn itself is high in fibre and low in fat but bagged popcorns are at higher stake of causing cancer. The bags of popcorn contain perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), which can make their way into popcorn while making corn. This chemical breakdown into perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is known as a potent carcinogen. Also, the fumes of artificial butter present in popcorn containdiacetyl, which is also a toxic substance. So, shift to a healthy way of cooking and eating popcorn.
Carbonated beverages and soda
These drinks contain high corn syrup and harmful colour dyes and artificial colours such as caramel colour. These can be harmful to your healthy cells.
Hydrogenated Oils
There are lots of chemicals used in the extraction of vegetable oils. Through the process of preparation, these oils treat with chemicals to enhance its smell Ann's taste. This can prove to be harmful to a cancer patient, hence should be avoided.
Red meat
Consuming red meat can increase the risk of cancer because of the sugar molecule present in it. This is known as Neu5Gc. Reaching in the body, this can cause intense inflammatory cascade, which can harm your body.
Farmed fish
Fish farming might involve treating fishes with pesticides, antibiotics and other chemicals. These may cause adverse effects on your body. Also, farmed fishes like farmed salmon fish found to have lower omega 3 content as compared to wild salmon. Patients recovering from cancer should avoid this as well.
GMOs (Genetically modified organisms)
The foods prepared using this technique are heavily treated with pesticides like glyphosate or incorporated with chemicals to kill bugs. Such substances can increase the risk of various cancers like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
French Fries
French fries embedded with hydrogenated oils, acrylamide, trans fat, and high salt content, which may raise the risk of hypertension, cancers, and various other health problems.
Canned foods
The cans in which food is stored found to contain BPA, a chemical that is linked to various birth defects heart problems and cancers of breast and prostate.
Therefore, a cancer patient or any other unhealthy person should avoid having these food items. Other than these, some other foods are good to avoid for a healthy and fit body.
3. Other food for cancer patients to avoid
Also avoid tetra packed drinks, cold drinks, canned juices, alcoholic beverages, pastries, patties, chowmein, and other fast and junk food items.
Note: Try to prepare the spices at home. Because the spices like Turmeric and red pepper you found in the market can control contain adulterants like lead chromate, coloured sawdust or yellowsoapstone powder for turmeric and salt, talc, or brick powder for the red pepper.
Having nutritious food is an important part of cancer patients who are under treatment or recovering from the problem. But, only healthy food and diet can give you a positive result. The above-mentioned food item can cause a serious adverse impact on your body. Therefore, strictly avoid such foods.
Follow the mantra "eat healthy live healthy"
To know more about the cancer preventing spices, diet for cancer and lifestyle of cancer patient after treatment, click here!