Replacing just 10% of ultra-processed foods with whole foods linked to drop in bowel cancer rate
New findings suggest the label ‘ultra-processed’ alone doesn’t tell the full story about bowel cancer risk. What’s in the food seems to matter.
A study analyzing data from more than 460,000 US adults reveals that replacing 10% of ultra-processed foods with minimally processed alternatives could reduce bowel cancer incidence by 2%. However, the research also found no direct link between overall ultra-processed food consumption and bowel cancer rates. The study highlights that certain components of ultra-processed foods, such as wholegrains, fibre, dairy, and calcium, are associated with lower bowel cancer risk, while processed meats are linked to higher risk.
The researchers caution against categorizing all ultra-processed foods as a single risk group, as the type of ultra-processed food consumed appears to play a role in bowel cancer risk.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
