Study Finds No Overall Cancer Link to Ultra-Processed Foods

A large U.S. study found no association between total ultra-processed food intake and colorectal cancer incidence, while reporting different associations for specific food groups. Researchers said higher consumption of whole grains, fiber, dairy and calcium was associated with lower incidence, while meat from ultra-processed sources was associated with higher incidence. The analysis drew on data from 461,682 adults enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Participants were ages 50 to 71 when they joined in 1995 and 1996. Researchers followed them through 2018, for a median of 18.8 years, and recorded more than 10,000 colorectal cancer cases, according to reports of the study. The researchers found no association between participants’ total intake of ultra-processed foods and colorectal cancer incidence. They also reported that replacing 10% of ultra-processed food intake by gram weight with minimally processed foods was associated with a 2% lower incidence. That result describes an association in the study, not evidence that the substitution itself prevents cancer. The food-group findings suggest that the broad processing category includes...