A new study reveals that eating too many ultra-processed foods can lead to mouth and throat cancer.
Researchers who analyzed the diets and lifestyles of nearly half a million people for more than a decade found that those who ate more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) were more likely to develop cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus.
UPFs have long been linked to obesity, which comes with an increased risk of many types of cancer.
The British Heart Foundation lists four foods, usually eaten at breakfast, as ultra-processed:
-Sausage.
- Breakfast cereal.
- Bread produced in large quantities.
- Fruit flavored yogurt.
Previous studies have identified a link between consumption of UPFs and cancer, including a recent British study that looked at the relationship between UPFs and 34 different cancers in the largest study of its kind in Europe.
Researchers from the University of Bristol and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) sought to determine whether links between UPF consumption and head and neck cancer, in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort, could be explained by increased body fat.
The international collaborative study analyzed diet and lifestyle data for 450,111 adults who were followed for approximately 14 years.
The results showed that eating 10% more UPFs was associated with a 23% increased risk of head and neck cancer, and a 24% increased risk of esophageal cancer.
“UPFs have been associated with excess weight and increased body fat in several observational studies,” explained Fernanda Morales Bernstein, a PhD student at the Wellcome Trust at the University of Bristol and lead author of the study. “This makes sense, because they are generally delicious, convenient and cheap. However, it was interesting "Interestingly, in our study, the association between intake of UPFs and upper gastrointestinal cancer did not appear to be significantly explained by BMI and waist-to-hip ratio."
The study authors suggested that other mechanisms could explain the higher risks associated with mouth and throat cancer, such as the presence of additives in UPFs including emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners that have previously been linked to an increased risk of developing the disease.
In addition, the researchers believe that contaminants found in the packaging of UPFs in which they are kept, as well as the manufacturing process, could help explain the relationship between consumption of UPFs and mouth and throat cancer.
However, the study authors acknowledge that there were potential biases in their study, which explains an association between higher UPF consumption and an increased risk of accidental deaths, which is unlikely to be causal.
Why you should never sleep on your stomach?!
Dr. Jay Chang, of Chirowell Health Clinic in Arizona, posted a video last week that has garnered more than 21 million views, in which he explains to his 250,000 followers that sleeping on your front can put pressure on your neck, lower back, and heart.
He explained that this sleeping position can put pressure on your heart, and may cause some cardiovascular problems for people with heart problems.
Sleeping on your stomach is unhealthy because it can inhibit breathing and cause an irregular curvature in your spine, as your torso naturally sinks deeper into the bed due to its weight, which may cause your back to arch, and your spine to stretch out of alignment.
This may lead to aches and pains upon waking, as well as muscle tightness. In the neck, it can lead to migraines.
This sleeping position forces you to turn your head, which may also lead to inflammation and pain in the neck muscles in addition to back pain.
Experts agree that sleeping on the back and side are the best positions.
It is believed that sleeping on your back is best because the body weight is distributed more evenly, meaning that no area is under more pressure than the other.