The National Cancer Institute, in their Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER), has stated that close to 1.8 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2019 in the United States alone. Cancer is a fatal disease that affects basic cell growth and division, and there are numerous factors that result in its development. While some factors such as age, gender, genetic defects, and environmental toxins are not in your control, what you can do to prevent or minimize the risk of this disease is to make lifestyle and dietary changes.

Accordingly, here are some foods that may contribute to cancer and must be avoided in your regular diet.

• Red meat
  Eating red meat like beef, veal, pork, mutton, etc. regularly has been strongly linked to stomach or colorectal cancer. This is especially true for highly-processed meats in the form of hot dogs, sausages, salami, ham, pepperoni, prosciutto, cured bacon, or beef jerky, or meat in a dried, smoked, or canned form. Research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) states, “Eating as little as 2 ounces of processed meat per day is enough to increase your risk of developing bowel cancer by 18%.” Processed meats contain added salt and nitrites that enhance flavor and other cancer-inducing carcinogens. Elevated levels of sodium in the body, apart from raising blood pressure and increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, also raise the chances of developing stomach cancer.
  Doctors believe it is not necessary to abstain from red meat completely and having it occasionally is fine for most. For people who enjoy consuming meat, choosing lean meats that have lower fat content and are an important source of protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12 are a better alternative. Examples of the most nutritious lean meats are chicken breasts, rabbit, venison, ostrich, goose, pheasant, turkey, duck, emu, and bush birds. Fish and seafood like shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels, and oysters are ideal sources of healthy fats from non-vegetarian sources. These foods are unlikely to contribute to cancer development.
• Alcohol
  There is a direct link between drinking alcohol and cancer. Increased alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing a variety of different cancers in the lips, throat, voice box, neck, mouth, esophagus, liver, breast, colon, and pancreas, anywhere between 1 to 6 times. An apparent pattern of increased cancer risk is found even in light and sporadic drinkers of alcohol. When the ethanol in alcoholic drinks is digested, it is broken down to produce harmful toxins like acetaldehyde, which damages the DNA and proteins in the body. Spirits also cause oxidation, which apart from harming DNA and proteins, also tampers with the fats in the body. The body’s ability to utilize nutrients from carotenoids and vitamins A, B, C, D, and E is curbed by alcohol. This weakens the immune system and increases the risk of cancer. For women, especially when they are pregnant, the risk of developing cancer increases multi-fold with excessive alcohol consumption because it increases estrogen levels in the body. This escalates breast cancer risk. Abstaining from alcohol completely is the only solution to reducing your risk of certain cancers.

Not just red meat and alcohol, even drinking incredibly hot liquids, sugar-rich carbonated soda, farm-raised salmon, white foods like bread and pasta made from highly refined all-purpose flour, snacks made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, canned tomatoes, and genetically modified products are foods that may contribute to various cancers.