Beating cancer is no easy task, but a diet rich in ultra-processed foods could harm the future health of survivors, according to a new study.
Cancer survivors with diets rich in ultra-processed foods have a 59% higher rate of death from cancer, researchers reported today in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
They were also 48% more likely to die from any cause over a 15-year follow-up, compared to survivors with the lowest intake of ultra-processed foods, the researchers found.
“What people eat after a cancer diagnosis can influence survival, but most research in this population has focused solely on nutrients, not the degree of food processing,” said study leader Marialaura Bonaccio, an epidemiology and prevention researcher at IRCCS Neuromed in Possilli, Italy.
“Substances involved in industrial food processing can interfere with metabolic processes, alter the intestinal microbiota and promote inflammation,” Bonaccio added in a press release. “As a result, even when an ultra-processed food has a similar calorie content and nutritional composition on paper compared to a minimally processed or ‘natural’ food, it could still have a more harmful effect on the body.”
Ultra-processed foods are primarily made from substances extracted from whole foods, such as saturated fats, starches, and added sugars. They also contain a wide variety of additives to make them more tasty, attractive and shelf-stable.
Examples include packaged baked goods, sugary cereals, ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat products, and deli meats.
For the new study, researchers followed more than 800 Italian cancer survivors between March 2005 and December 2022. They were followed for a median of 14.6 years, meaning half were followed for a longer period and the other half for a shorter period.
All participants provided data on their eating habits, allowing researchers to estimate the amount of ultra-processed foods in their daily diet.
The results showed that people who consumed more ultra-processed foods were more likely to die during follow-up, compared to those who consumed less.
This association is partly explained by the effects of these foods on inflammation and heart rate, according to the researchers. These factors accounted for 37% of the relationship between ultra-processed foods and death after cancer.
“These results suggest that increased inflammation and elevated resting heart rate may partially explain the relationship between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and increased mortality, and help clarify how food processing itself might contribute to worse outcomes among cancer survivors,” Bonaccio said.
The researchers said their results show that reducing overall consumption of ultra-processed foods and replacing them with whole foods can help a person’s health.
“The main message to the public is that global consumption of ultra-processed foods matters much more than any individual product,” Bonaccio said. “Focusing on the diet as a whole, reducing ultra-processed foods in general, and directing consumption towards fresh, unprocessed and homemade foods is the most significant and beneficial approach for health.”
He offered a simple guide for buyers.
“A practical way to do this is by checking labels: foods with more than five ingredients, or even just one food additive, will likely be ultra-processed,” Bonaccio said.
