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It’s long been known that many environmental factors play a part in the likelihood of developing cancer. These factors range from the air we breathe to the habits we pick up and even the food we eat. Carcinogens are substances that contribute to the risk of developing cancer. We most commonly associate them with tobacco and asbestos insulation, but carcinogens can also be found in our refrigerators and on our plates. You may be surprised by some of the foods you regularly eat that are known to cause cancer within the confines of the human body. Don’t be surprised if you’ve unknowingly enjoyed every item on the list.
1. Instant Macaroni and Cheese
The number one cancer-causing food on the list is Macaroni and Cheese. Although it might be the go-to comfort food for many, buying the boxed kits to make it fast and easy is a bad idea. These highly-processed options contain a lot of carcinogens. Instead, opt for a homemade version to reduce your carcinogen intake.
2. Canned Soup
When the soup is canned at the factory, several stabilizers, sugars, and starches are added to help preserve it for the long haul. Making homemade soup is a far healthier choice using fresh veggies and bone broth. It will probably taste better, too!
3. Store-Bought Bread
Buying bread at the grocery store increases your intake of hydrogenated oils and potassium bromate, both of which are known carcinogens. In fact, potassium bromate has even been outlawed in some countries because of its reputation as the number one cancer-causing food ingredient.
4. Toaster Pastries
Toaster pastries have long been advertised as a quick and easy solution to getting your kids to take breakfast on the run. From refined flours and sugars to other filler ingredients, though, they might as well be labeled “cancer bombs.” Steer clear as often as possible.
5. Fried Chicken
Carcinogenic chemicals form and multiply during high-heat cooking methods like frying. When frying a chicken, the object is to make it as crispy as possible, which means nearly burning the skin. According to some experts, the closer you come to burning food, the more carcinogenic chemicals it will release.
The problem here isn’t with the chicken itself but with the oil in particular. Avoid vegetable oils and trans fats in your chicken and stick with those fats humans have been cooking with for centuries safely, like beef tallow and lard. If you prefer something lighter, virgin coconut oil or palm oil are good choices.
6. Potato Chips
Not only are potato chips fried in typically carcinogenic vegetable oils, but they are also flavored and preserved using refined sugars and starches. This delivers a double or even triple whammy in terms of carcinogenic compounds found within the chemical makeup of this popular snack choice.
7. Deli Meat
Deli meat is processed using nitrates. In a 2015 study by the World Health Organization, every 3.5 ounce serving of deli meat consumed per day increased the daily risk of colorectal cancer by 12%. Other studies conducted by the same organization in 2018 stated that processed meats could also be partially responsible for increasing breast cancer cases in America.
