Health experts warn two breakfast favorites are in danger of causing cancer as Trump administration revamps dietary guidelines
The most important meal of the day could be taking a toll on our bodies
Whether you get up as the cock crows or like to lie in bed for a little longer, there's a reason people call breakfast the most important meal of the day. Setting you up for the day and fuelling you as you head out to work or whatever it is you're doing, underestimate breakfast at your own peril.
Still, we don't think any doctors are going to applaud that morning can of Red Bull and a packet of cigarettes as a good way to get you going.
Breakfast is so important that some have even suggested that skipping it could be linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
We know Taylor Swift likes to tuck into her favorite dish of buckwheat crepes with ham, cheese, and egg, but according to the World Health Organization, she could be putting her life at risk with her seemingly healthy meal.
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As the WHO has classified ham and other processed deli meats as a Group 1 carcinogen, it puts them alongside tobacco as being major red flags for your health.
The Trump administration recently came under fire for its revamped dietary guidelines that told us to eat more red meat and butter, although Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has at least been praised for waging war on ultra-processed foods.
It just so happens that these ultra-processed foods encompass the likes of breakfast cereal. While it's clear that a bowl of Flintstones Fruity Pebbles isn't exactly a balanced breakfast choice based on their luminous colors on their own, other supposedly 'healthy' options like museli or granola can be packed with sugars and preservatives.
Consuming these preservatives found in deli meat, breakfast cereals, and bacon is said to increase your cancer risk.
Published in the British Medical Journal, one study found subjects who ingested preservatives used to extend a product's shelf-life had a higher risk of cancers when compared to subjects who ate less of them or none at all.
Sodium nitrite is typically used to preserve bacon and was associated with a 32% increased risk of prostate cancer. The similar potassium nitrate preservative was also tied to a 13% increased risk of overall cancer and 22% increased risk of breast cancer.
We've already been told to avoid bacon and especially cooking it in an air fryer, but now, there's another reason to reconsider it at breakfast.
Sticking with the breakfast favorites of bacon and cereals, 54% of nitrites and 80% of nitrates were found in processed meat, while 44% of propionates (used to prevent mould and bacterial growth) were from refined grains and cereals.
It's important to note that the study suggests there's an association between these preservatives and cancer, although it's not definitive proof because more research needs to be done.
Replying to the story from ABC World News Tonight, one person said: "European and Asian countries have known that for decades, main reason US processed food are not sold or allowed in their countries."
Another added: "My oncologist told me to stay away from all of this."
A third concluded: "The longer the shelf life, the shorter is yours!"
Much like we're being told to look a little closer at that quick lunchtime sandwich we grab as we munch at our desks, it could be time to reassess our breakfast staples.