Top 4 Cancer-Causing Foods You Should Stop Eating Now

Today, cancer is estimated to hit about roughly one in three people; a statistic that should alarm anyone into taking preventative action in his life.

Pollution, genetics and diets are all contributing factors to how much cancer risk we expose ourselves to. While we may not have control over pollution or genetics, we can certainly take control with what we eat. Read on to see the top four pro-cancer foods you should start eating less of:

Potato chips and French fries are sadly found to be extremely  high in the carcinogen acrylamide, which the World Health Organisation has found to pose a "a major concern" to human health. Acrylamide is a chemical usually reserved for industrial purposes like making paper and plastics, but it is also formed in cooking when certain foods are heated to high temperatures - such as the frying of potatoes to make our salty fries and crunchy chips. Better to avoid exposure to this nasty chemical and make some baked sweet potato fries instead.

Also Read: Top 4 Cancer-Fighting Foods You Should Start Eating Now

Oxidized fats. Fats found in unsaturated oils, such as olive oil, canola oil, or other vegetable oils, become rancid when they are exposed to both air and heat. Typically, the amount of air exposure they receive during storage and cooking is nominal, but the heat treatment they get during frying or repeated usage in the kitchen become dangerous. Researchers have found oxidized fats to produce "a variety of mutagens, promoters, and carcinogens," all of which are related to the formation of the cancer. Reduce your exposure to fried foods of all sorts, including fried chicken, vegetable tempura or even the carnival favourite - churros.

Nitrites. Sodium nitrite is a chemical additive that preserves the appearance and integrity of certain foods, usually processed meats, bacon and hot dogs. Cured foods like smoked fish will also usually contain nitrites (check the labels). This well-intended chemical becomes carcinogenic when it combines with the amines in the protein-rich food (exactly the animal foods they are applied to in the first place), and the carcinogen nitrosamine is formed as the by-product.

Grilled or charcoaled foods. Researchers have shown that the longer foods are exposed to intense direct heat - especially meat foods - the more carcinogens, called heterocyclic amines, are produced.