Diet and Cancer Prevention: Worst Foods

As you may know – cancer is one of the “four horsemen” of disease for people in developed countries and is even starting to plague lower-income countries more and more as well.

What role does diet play in this?

In this series of articles we will discuss overall concepts of foods to avoid, good foods for prevention, and how even the gut microbiome relates to cancer with the ultimate goal of teaching you how to eat to avoid this “horseman” as best as possible. Welcome to Diet and Cancer Prevention.

Diet and Cancer Prevention

Table of Contents

Before getting into things, I just want to note that while I do base my writing on studies/logic I am not a medical provider and I could be wrong. There could also be more up-to-date/better research I haven’t yet seen.

This series is simply an explanation of diet for cancer from the standpoint of optimization and prevention. Nutrition is a great adjunct but this is not a substitute for any medical treatment, advice, or provider. If you have a disease seek proper medical care.

I also want to remind you – while perfection is a nice goal, being extremely militant isn’t great either. If I eat healthy 95% of the time and want to have a drink socially or enjoy a dessert with family, I do. You probably agree 🙂

I think the Pareto Principle of being aware of the 20% worst foods dragging down 80% of healthy eating progress and working to limit those things is a healthy goal.

On the other hand, while it may seem like a 9% increased risk here or 5% there from certain foods isn’t much, I like to take concepts from “Atomic Habits” here where small wins build and build until you’re suddenly winning by a huge margin.

Going from 0-100 overnight just won’t work – start with small wins that build up over time.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links so we may receive compensation if you sign up for or purchase products linked below from Amazon or other affiliated companies. Full Affiliate Disclosure. This post does not contain medical advice, we, Hardmaxing.com, are not medical doctors, this information is for general and educational purposes only. Full Medical Disclaimer.

Avoid List

Harmful Oils/Fats (eg: Fried foods, certain processed foods)
Processed Meats (eg: Hotdogs)
Red Meat (eg: Pork, Lamb)
Sugar and sugar-sweetened Beverages
GMOs
Refined White Flours
Charred Foods
Alcohol

Sugar

Trusted Source “Understanding the Link between Sugar and Cancer: An Examination of the Preclinical and Clinical Evidence” by Margeaux Epner, Peiying Yang, Richard W. Wagner, Lorenzo Cohen.

This was one of the more interesting studies I went through while reading for this series.

It states a bunch of facts about sugar. Still, the reason I wanted to write about it is because I feel like sugar is a high-yield thing that we can all benefit from cutting out – especially compared to something like alcohol or red meats which may be harder to justify cutting.

The source talks about how most Americans are consuming sugar way over the daily limits set by numerous health organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the World Health Organization.

It always touches on the fact that cancer used to be a disease that was limited to more developed countries but we are now seeing rates dramatically rise in lower-income countries as the diets have become more and more “Westernized”.

The craziest part? This is all independent of weight gain – normally when you think of the risks of sugar you think of weight gain, diabetes, etc but new research has linked the mechanisms brought on by sugar itself to cancer.

The authors stated that “preclinical studies and studies of people with MetS show that high-sucrose or high-fructose diets activate several mechanistic pathways, including inflammation, glucose, and lipid metabolic pathways, suggesting a causal link between excess sugar consumption and cancer development and progression that is independent of weight gain.”

In summary – I think sugar is a huge issue that we can all probably aim to limit a bit more than we currently are. It’s in so many products specifically added in and we’re not even talking about naturally occurring sugars.

I recommend at least glancing over labels before consuming things – just seeing the absurd amounts of added sugar in some seemingly harmless food choices helped change my mindset.

What about Fruit?

Fruits and other whole foods like vegetables are often packed with things like fiber, polyphenols, vitamins, etc, and are generally more satisfying compared to processed foods.

Something like a frosted cinnamon roll which is highly processed in so many aspects and will quickly spike up your blood sugar and negatively influence your gut microbiome.

More on this in Diet and Cancer: Part 2 – Good Foods.

Processed & Red Meat

This is a controversial one depending on your views & biases – but hear me out.

I’m not a vegan in any sense and I’m not going to recommend any crazy meat replacement ideas like insects or toxic processed fake meats but I will give you a balanced anti-red meat viewpoint.

This is coming from someone who actively eats red meat way more than the average American likely even does – it’s a bad habit I picked up from years of familial influence and is something I will be correcting in 2024.

Processed Meats

Processed meats are classified as carcinogens for humans and shouldn’t even be in the question in my opinion – at least a steak is worth it.

Worst Offenders:

Bacon
Sausages
Hot Dogs

Red Meat

Red meats (beef, pork, lamb, etc) have been classified as probable carcinogens, but the evidence isn’t as clear compared to processed meats.

Some reviews have stated that the risks are minimal so you should maintain your current levels of meat consumption but these reviews themselves show a reduction in red meat consumption correlates to a reduction in cancer rates.

It’s my personal opinion that it doesn’t cost me much in terms of lowering red meat consumption compared to the potential benefits. I can manage nutrition with other high-quality foods.

Charred Foods

This is also a big thing with meats – charred foods and grilling in general. Research suggests these burns and methods of cooking are carcinogenic and may be linked to certain cancers.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to note that red meats provide high-quality proteins, micronutrients, B vitamins, and zinc, among other things.

I’m personally going to be switching to a low-red-meat diet but not completely cut it out. Most of my other nutrients can be reliably obtained from a majority plant-based diet as well as from things like fish and chicken. Beans provide great protein as well.

I think a lot of people think about red meat from the perspective of emotion, politics, or even peer pressure. Objectively it seems like cutting it out or limiting it and keeping consumption of it low is best – to argue against this seems disingenuous to me.

Reaching healthy nutrient levels without red meat is possible even if it requires more effort.

Alcohol

If you heavily consume alcohol, cancer is just another reason to work towards cutting or limiting use.

Several studies (1, 2) have linked alcohol to cancer to some extent.

Similar to red meat though I can’t see many people completely cutting this and I don’t think they should either. If you drink socially or to wind down occasionally I don’t see the harm in that.

It’s also important to remember that all of this stuff compounds over years – if you’re interested in longevity that may also be something to factor in.

If you’re a heavy or consistent user though consider limiting use if not for your liver for potential cancer risks.

Conclusion

After reading through a ton of resources on diet and cancer I created the quick list which covers the majority of negative dietary choices implicated with cancer.

It’s helpful to see everything negative in a quick list so that you’re able to formulate ideas on how to go about improving your habits.

One tip I can suggest is to work on a few things at a time and remember: everything in moderation. If you’re heavily addicted to sugary treats daily but also enjoy having a few drinks every week socially maybe just focus on the sugar first.

I’m not someone who thinks you need to be crazy with this stuff – as long as I have a nice consistent base of healthy nutrients and fibers for my microbiome, if I slip up here or there or want to enjoy something “bad” socially then I will.

Thank you for reading!