'Popular' foods have the potential to cause cancer but few people know

According to experimental analysis of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), carcinogenic substances have been classified asCancer is divided into 5 types: type 1, type 2A, type 2B, type 3 and type 4.

- Category 1 substances: There is clear evidence of a clear association with the occurrence of cancer.

- Category 2A substances: There is relatively strong evidence that they may cause cancer.

- Category 2B substances: May cause cancer

- Type 3 substances: No need to worry too much, including tea, coffee and cholesterol.

- Class 4 substances: Cannot cause cancer, such as amino acids.

Below health experts mainly consider foods that are closely related to all people with type 1 and type 2A.

1. Class 1 carcinogens

- Alcohol:oral cancer, pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer.

Studies have shown that people who drink a lot of alcohol (more than 3 drinks per day) are more likely to develop gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer and malignancy than people who do not drink alcohol.

There are also studies that show that drinking alcohol is linked to throat cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

-Processed meat: Colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, processed meat is meat that has been smoked, cured, dried, or seasoned to preserve it. These include: jerky, ham, canned meat, sausages, and other fish.

There is strong evidence that eating processed meat products can cause colon cancer, and eating 50g of processed meat products per day increases the risk of colon cancer by 18%.

-Salted fish:Nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Salted fish is a popular food because it is highly salted and dried. However, during processing, nitrososamine compounds are produced, which have been shown in clinical trials to cause cancer.

- Aflatoxin:Liver cancer, kidney cancer.

The most common of these substances are peanuts and corn that have been contaminated with Aspergillus flavus. In addition, some processed foods that use peanut ingredients such as peanut butter can also cause cancer due to mold.

- Other type 1 foods:Currently, there are 118 class 1 carcinogens. In addition to the above foods, there are also tobacco, benzene, arsenic, polycyclic hydrocarbons (commonly found in cooking fumes and automobile exhaust), and various ionizing radiation, outdoor air pollution, etc.

2. Carcinogen type 2A

- Red meat:Colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer

The International Agency for Research on Cancer initially suggested that red meat was likely to cause cancer, creating panic among the public.

It is called red meat because when raw, it is red, after cooking it turns dark, for example, fresh red meat of mammals such as: beef, lamb, pork. According to research, eating a lot of red meat will increase the risk of rectal cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer...

Eating red meat in large quantities and over a long period of time will lead to the risk of cancer. Although red meat is classified as a type 2A carcinogen, it does not mean that it cannot be eaten.

The World Cancer Research Agency recommends that red meat intake should not exceed 1kg per week. However, eating less is better for your health.

- Eating food that is too hot:Oral cancer, pharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer.

Regularly consuming food above 65°C can easily cause esophageal cancer because the esophageal mucosa is damaged at high temperatures and the mucosa is repeatedly stimulated.

- Nitrates and Nitrites:Esophageal cancer, liver cancer.

Pickles and pickled products contain more nitrites, which cause liver cancer and esophageal cancer. In addition, a series of foods that are fried in a lot of oil, dried, roasted, etc. are also in group 2A. The habit of staying up late is also included in these carcinogens.

In general, for class 1 and class 2A carcinogens, we should avoid them as much as possible. But it does not mean that these foods will definitely cause cancer when we eat small amounts, because the appearance of cancer is often the result of long-term effects of many factors.