A 2013 survey by the National Central Cancer Registry of China showed that China has more than 3 million new cancer cases each year, and the link between cancer and diet is becoming increasingly close.
Based on the survey data from the National Central Cancer Registry, the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has released a blacklist of carcinogenic foods. See how many of these carcinogenic foods you have eaten.
1. Pickled Foods
Foods such as salted fish, salted eggs, pickled vegetables, salted meat, and ham may produce dimethyl nitrite during the pickling process, which is converted into the carcinogen dimethyl nitrosamine in the body. Excessive consumption of these foods can increase the risk of cancer in the digestive tract, including the stomach, intestines, and pancreas. Therefore, from this perspective, pickled products have a certain carcinogenicity.
2. Barbecued Foods
Barbecued foods such as roasted beef, roasted duck, roasted lamb, roasted goose, and suckling pig contain strong carcinogens and should not be eaten in excess. Various barbecued meats, if improperly marinated beforehand, can easily produce excessive nitrites. The charred parts of meat and fish skin contain the strong carcinogen benzopyrene. When consumed on an empty stomach, these two substances come into direct contact with the gastric mucosa, increasing the risk of stomach cancer by about twenty times compared to the average population. A considerable portion of the carcinogens is also mixed into the smoke from the barbecue. The harm from the smoke, laden with toxic gases, from barbecued food should also be taken very seriously.
3. Smoked Foods
Smoked foods such as smoked meat, smoked liver, smoked fish, smoked eggs, and smoked tofu dregs contain the carcinogen benzopyrene, and regular consumption can easily lead to esophageal and stomach cancer. The issue of pickled foods causing cancer has long been known. In this regard, Director Huang Xinen, an expert from Jiangsu Provincial Cancer Hospital, explained that the high incidence of stomach cancer in the northwestern region of China is not unrelated to their love for pickled meat and vegetables. The incidence of stomach cancer in Hunan, a major producer of smoked meat, is also not low, mainly due to the large amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produced from the incomplete combustion of fuel during the smoking and roasting process, many of which have varying degrees of carcinogenicity.
4. Fried Foods
When food is fried until charred, it produces carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. For example, when coffee is burned, benzopyrene increases 20-fold. Foods like fried pancakes, stinky tofu, fried taro chips, and fried dough sticks often use oil that has been reused many times, which can produce carcinogens at high temperatures. Research has found that people who frequently eat fried foods not only damage internal organs but also face a risk of cancer if consumed long-term.
5. Moldy Foods
Foods such as rice, wheat, beans, corn, and peanuts are prone to moisture and mold. After being contaminated by mold, they produce the carcinogenic toxin aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is 68 times more toxic than arsenic and 10 times more toxic than the deadly potassium cyanide; it is the most potent chemical carcinogen currently known, with a carcinogenic capacity 10,000 times greater than that of "BHC" (benzene hexachloride). It easily grows on peanuts, corn, and nuts. It is not soluble in water but extremely heat-resistant, and cannot be removed by ordinary washing or cooking.
6. Leftover Cooked Cabbage and Sauerkraut, Re-boiled Water
Leftover cooked cabbage and sauerkraut, re-boiled water: These can produce nitrites, which are converted into carcinogenic nitrosamines in the body.