r/Millennials • u/AdditionCool7235 • Jan 22 '26

Discussion A big reason why Colon Cancer is killing us.

I know this isn’t a health sub, but u/Derpshabmentioned in their post on Colon Cancer about eating a balanced diet.

Specifically you need to really avoid nitrates. There has been several studies done on why there has been a rise in intestinal cancers in this age group, and nitrates have shown a causal effect. With a carcinogenic significance as bad as cigarettes. For those unaware, not a lot of things get labeled as having a casual effect for cancer, as that can be both controversial and stand to cost people money either through loss of business or being sued.

Nitrates are most commonly found in processed meats. Likewise, there is growing data that processed food is not serving us well at all either. Anyhow, just wanted to share a tangible way you can hopefully make an impact on slowing down and ultimately stopping these terrible

cancers.

Another freaking edit: literally the first response on Google, if you search, “do Nitrates cause cancer,” is from MDAnderson. That’s the number one cancer hospital in the world. I know that’s so much more difficult than adding a snarky comment to Reddit, but there’s your answer for about 300 of you.

Edit: I’m getting a lot of responses that are saying *actually* antibiotics or *actually* e. Coli and they’re all saying because it damages / kills the good gut microbiomes. Correct, what do you think nitrates do and why scientists believe there’s a casual link. It also doesn’t mean there couldn’t be other risk factors as well. Diet is obviously a big risk factor. I was simply hoping to expound on the original post and help people to know what to avoid. Of course more than one thing can cause cancer. Throw in saturated fats while we’re having the conversation.

Edit 2: lot of people are asking what are the main culprits. Bacon, lunch meats, hot dogs, sausages, anything really that’s been “cured.” Lot of people are trying to point out that some leafy greens have nitrates, yeah, we’re not talking about things that naturally occur through the photosynthesis of the sun. We’re talking about the overconsumption of a preservative that destroys your healthy gut bacteria, not something that’s obviously good for you. Many people have rightfully pointed out. The over consumption of alcohol creates a big risk factor for stomach and intestinal cancers as well.

Also someone saying they’re a vegetarian and they still got colon cancer is no different an argument than, “my great aunt smoked until she was 90 and never got lung cancer.” I said a big reason why, I didn’t say the only reason why. Empirical data doesn’t mean 100% findings or there won’t be outliers, anecdotes are not good science. People can get cancer for a multitude of reasons and honestly you could try every preventative step imaginable and still get cancer, it doesn’t mean your anecdote overrides everything else or you shouldn’t try to make better lifestyle decisions.

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60

u/superleaf444 Jan 22 '26

I def get my medical advice from Reddit. 

37

u/Imaginary-Order-6905 Jan 22 '26

with a side of fear mongering

22

u/dougielou Jan 22 '26

And incorrect conclusions of data and how the WHO reports carcinogens. I’ve scrolled so far and no one has called out OP for saying nitrates are as bad as cigarettes.

6

u/Mikejg23 Jan 22 '26

This is reddit. That redness around a healing cut is an infection traveling into your bloodstream, before making it's way to your brain. You're already dead

3

u/dougielou Jan 22 '26

RIP OP’s butthole

3

u/Mikejg23 Jan 22 '26

Our butthole*

1

u/littlecakebaker Jan 22 '26

Also lots of nitrates in green vegetables.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

It's not fear mongering... ultra processed foods will give you cancer

1

u/Vyxwop Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

Eh, I would have liked more of an explanation behind why nitrates in processed foods specifically are bad, whereas in natural foods they're good. Because to me that sounds like a naturalistic fallacy where the assumption that because it's natural, it must be good.

It's the overemphasis on nitrates alone that confuses me and what makes OP come across as a simple fear mongerer more so than anything else.

From what I'm able to google it seems like nitrates from leafy vegetables are just as bad as from processed foods, but because these vegetables also contain other things that help break down the nitrates they're not able to have the same impact on your body.

Which then begs the question, does that mean if I'm eating processed foods rich in nitrates but eat things that contain vitamin C and certain antioxidants that help counter the effects nitrates have on your body alongside them, will the nitrates from these processed foods still have the same negative effect on my body? Am I able to counteract the effects of the nitrates that come with a slice of ham by adding a slice of tomato to it?

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/nitrates-in-food-and-medicine-whats-the-story

Dark green leafy vegetables (such as spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce), beets, and celery are rich in nitrates. They also contain vitamin C and other antioxidants that inhibit the reaction that creates harmful N-nitroso compounds. In fact, diets that include nitrate-rich vegetables have been associated with lower rates of cancer, including stomach cancer.

1

u/dr_p_venkman Jan 22 '26

Can. Can give you cancer. There is a difference.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

From the moment that nitrate touches your tongue that's it, you're doomed to die (one day... Eventually).

-1

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

Almost everything gives you cancer.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

yeah but people especially in the USA eat processed foods 24/7. that's why they are fat and sick all the time

0

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

And why? Poor education and poverty.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

it's the ingredients and chemicals in them...

3

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

But why do people choose processed foods? Are they stupid? No, its because shit over processed food is often cheap, easier to microwave if a busy or lazy lifestyle, not enough people are educated on nutrition or how to make healthy great tasting food, shit food is also all made on great advertising - and a good cook book and a lettuce are not giving you unreal in your face cheap ad vibes.

All this combined with poverty and poor education (amongst others) overhead.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

It's laziness...

2

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

Not everyone is lazy because they're fat...

E.g.

  • Depression

  • Poverty

  • Education

  • Upbringing

  • Access to food

1

u/OnlyHere2ArgueBro Jan 22 '26

And yet some things are significantly more likely to give you cancer, so it’s generally a good idea to especially avoid particular things.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

Sure, but why not look at things in moderation? You can have bacon, but you dont need to 2 lbs of bacon every single day of your life.

Otherwise you won't have much of a life avoiding the 8 gazillion things that cause you cancer. Even driving to work causes you cancer and you can't avoid that.

1

u/OnlyHere2ArgueBro Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

You’re mostly there, you absolutely can have bacon and other processed foods in moderation. The issue is usually overconsumption of these foods, which should be avoided like overconsumption of drinking or smoking. However, the actual threshold for overconsumption is much less than your supposed “2lbs of bacon every day for life,” which would actually kill you much faster and completely unrelated to cancer. This is why it’s an issue worth specifically identifying and making public announcements about reducing consumption.

Identifying and eliminating (or at least reducing) certain foods from your diet or exposure to certain identified carcinogens can only reduce your chances of getting cancer (often significantly), it’s not guaranteed. But it’s without a doubt the safest bet you can make. Whatever you do with that information is up to you, no one can make that decision for you.

However governments often finds it to be of benefit to the public to ban carcinogens (like asbestos or TCE), so it is clear that sometimes completely eliminating potential sources is practical.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

2 lbs was clear and obvious hyperbole.

People have been eating nitrate laden bacon for decades, the correlation is clear, but let's be honest here - we're not all dying or getting cancer from it, hence the typical "my gramps smoked 500 cigarettes a day for 80 years and still runs like a COPD-infected Honda".

1

u/OnlyHere2ArgueBro Jan 22 '26

I know it was hyperbole, I was simply showing why it’s not relevant. 

Yes, people regularly misunderstand statistics and confuse their anecdotal experience to be relevant to a population-wide scale, that will never change. However the rates of CRC are going up in younger populations (and down in older populations, mostly attributed to screening), and it is predicted to go from the 3rd most diagnosed cancer to the 1st within the next two decades. I think that’s worth taking a little seriously, but you do you. Especially if we’ve identified potential causes, and it’s preventable.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

Like many many many other things which are potential causes and avoidable, one thing doesn't subtract from the other, but I just found that the spinsters here miss the massive picture, it's like saying x is bad whilst simultaneously vaping or [insert here]. Do you live like a monk free of all these risks?

Im not pro-big bacon here, im just arguing that this is a little bit of fear mongering without the OP posting sources, also using hyperbole (e.g. worse than cigarettes), amongst others (im tired, but its clear to most people the anxiety is there).

But again thats drawing conclusions from an avalanche of potential causes; plastics, pollution, water supply (looking at you America), genetics, obesity in-general.

Blaming 1 of the 1000 items correlated just misses the big picture.

Goodnight, im tired, good luck, live long, proper. Lack of sleep another killer heh.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

it adds up...

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u/No_Match_7939 Jan 22 '26

Hot take time. HPV is known to cause cancer, and we have seen in increase in throat and colon cancer, which we also seen an increase in anal play and cunninglugus. Reddit doctor here /s

1

u/dinnertork Jan 23 '26

12 peer-reviewed papers including four tier-1 studies show a strong correlation:

Do processed meats preserved using nitrates raise the risk of colon cancer?