Updated: 17-07-2025
The different foods and beverages you eat regularly provide energy to your body and help build immunity.
With the help of the nutrients absorbed from these foods, your body can fight various diseases and protect your overall well-being. However, certain foods cause cancer in humans.
It should be noted that there are certain foods that are worse for your life and can increase your risk for various diseases and conditions.
And cancer is one of the most dreadful of all the diseases.
Hence it is essential that everyone must be well aware of cancer-causing foods and keep them away from your palate.
Top 10 Cancer Prevention Foods That Cause Cancer in Humans
Here are the top 10 foods that cause cancer and also lead to other health complications such as diabetes, chronic inflammation, heart disease, and more:
1. Microwave Popcorn
The bag of microwave popcorn is lined with harmful chemicals to restrict the freshness and crispiness of the product.
All around the world, experts are debating whether this food is the major cause of lung cancer or not.
Most probably, the producers use GMO kernels and oils, which are extremely harmful.
It is always better to use organic products. The fumes emitted from artificial butter contain a toxic element called diacetyl.
You can avoid the harmful effects of microwave popcorn by making a healthier choice and making your organic popcorn the traditional way.
It is always better to do a little bit of hard work than to introduce foods that cause cancer in humans into your daily diet.
2. GMOs or Genetically Modified Foods
It is a very sad thing that around 90% of the soy or corn available worldwide is genetically modified.
Experts believe that introducing GMO foods was a hurried affair, and the producers did not go for adequate testing to check whether this new modified version of food could be beneficial or harmful to human health.
Thousands of ingredients are being added to the vast range of products to modify them genetically, and none, including growers and manufacturers, are aware of the long-term effects of such produce.
Few scientists have indicated that there is a possibility that regular use of GMO foods can lead to cancer.
Hence, always look out for GMO-free details on the products and prefer buying organic ones to avoid cancer-causing foods.
3. Refined White Sugar
According to reports, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is one of the biggest foods that cause cancer in humans.
Apart from that, refined sugar is also considered to be a cancer-causing agent.
Brown sugar, too, is considered equally dangerous, as it comes with added colour and flavour after removing some of the molasses.
Refined sugars and foods that are made using it spike the insulin and feed the cancer cell growth.
Most of the sugar in major parts of the world is prepared using GMOs, and the possibility of refined sugar causing cancer has multiplied manifold.
The healthier option for a sweet tooth is organic honey, maple sugar, or coconut sugar.
Recent updates suggest that oncologists have started using medicines for diabetes to fight cancer cells.
Hence, refined sugar undoubtedly is one of the foods causing cancer.
Also Read: 7 Cancer facts that you need to know
4. Canned Goods
Cans that are used for preserving foods are lined from the inside with a product called bisphenol-A (BPA).
According to health experts, this particular product genetically altered the brain cells administered to rats.
Most of the plastic goods, water lines, thermal paper, and even dental composites contain BPA.
To avoid introducing the cancer-causing product into your diet, protect your DNA by preferring fresh or frozen vegetables with no added ingredients.
Always choose seasonal fruits and vegetables to avoid any type of health problem.
5. Grilled Red Meat
Grilled food is delicious, and most people who eat out prefer having grilled red meat on their plates.
Sadly, health experts do not find it good enough for regular eating.
According to scientists processed meats such as hot dogs are known to release a carcinogen, heterocyclic aromatic amines.
When the red meat is grilled until the well-done stage, the molecular and chemical structure of the meat changes.
Instead, health experts advise broiling, baking, or preparing meat in a skillet instead of the grill to avoid foods that cause cancer.
6. Smoked, Pickled, Salted Foods
Most of these foods are filled with preservatives, especially nitrates, so that the product remains fresh for a long time on the shelf.
Over time, these additives can accumulate in your body, and these toxins affect the functioning of your cells, leading to diseases like cancer.
Smoked foods are one of the biggest causes of cancer in humans.
When these foods are cooked at high temperatures, the nitrates get converted into dangerous nitrites.
7. White Flour
Refined flour does not have any nutritional value.
It is bleached with chlorine gas during its preparation, which makes it more appealing to consumers.
Unfortunately, it is one of the most used foods around the world.
Very few people know that apart from refined sugar, white or refined flour is known to have a high glycaemic index.
It increases the level of your insulin. The body converts carbohydrates into sugar.
So, foods with white flour automatically lead to increased resistance to insulin.
Refined carbohydrates, including simple sugars, are the main fuel for cancer.
8. Farmed Fish
With the increase in the demand for fish, commercial fish farming has flourished rapidly in the past few decades.
Farming of different varieties of fish, especially salmon, is on the rise.
In the process of commercial farming, the fish are raised in a crowded environment.
Research indicates that in most developed countries 60% of salmon comes from a farming operation that uses pesticides, antibiotics, and several other carcinogenic chemicals.
The farmers use these chemicals to prevent viral, bacterial, and parasitic outbreaks caused by cramming a large number of fish in a small space.
Thus, such farmed fish are one of the most common foods that cause cancer in humans.
9. Hydrogenated Oil
Most of the hydrogenated vegetable oils of today are chemically extracted and treated with chemicals to change their taste and smell.
They are topped up with unhealthy omega-6 fats known for altering the structure of cell membranes.
10. Carbonated Beverages & Soda
Over the last two decades, many health experts have been claiming that soda is one of the major foods causing cancer.
These are rich in high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and several toxic chemicals and dyes.
Hence, this soda, as well as all the other carbonated beverages, is awful for your health.
To Avoid Foods That Cause Cancer
1. Multiple times boiled oil
2. Eating vegetables without washing them 3 times.
3. Living in a polluted environment
4. Bad lifestyle
5. Tobacco
Thanks for reading this valuable information. If possible, share your suggestions on cancer.
