# Ultra-Processed Foods Overall Not Tied to Colorectal Cancer

_Evidence Level: Moderate · Abar L et al., PLoS medicine, DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.1005251_

*Associations of food processing and dietary risk factors with colorectal cancer incidence in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study: A cohort study.*

- **Evidence Level**: Moderate
- **Why this grade**: A very large prospective cohort with over 20 years of follow-up, but observational and reliant on self-reported diet.
- **Publication Types**: Journal Article
- **Journal**: PLoS medicine
- **Sample Size**: 461,682 US adults aged 50 to 71
- **Authors**: Abar L, O'Connell CP, Hong HG, Herrick KA, Kahle L, Lerman JL, Liao LM, Zhang X, Zhao L, Zouiouich S, Sinha R, Khandpur N, Martínez Steele E, Loftfield E
- **Graded and published**: 2026-10-15
- **Last edited**: 2026-10-16
- **Topics**: Nutrition, Cancer
- **DOI**: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005251
- **Original Source**: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42879326/

## Summary

Ultra-processed foods have a bad reputation, yet in a large US study their total intake was not linked to colorectal cancer. More than 461,000 adults aged 50 to 71 filled in a food questionnaire in 1995 and 1996 and were followed through 2018, during which 10,075 developed colorectal cancer. People who ate the most ultra-processed food were not diagnosed more often than those who ate the least. The details may partly explain why: whole grains, fiber, dairy and calcium from ultra-processed sources were linked to fewer cases, while meat from those sources was linked to more. Diet was measured only by questionnaire, so reporting errors and other factors could distort the picture.

## Practical Takeaway

Total ultra-processed food intake was not linked to colorectal cancer, but meat from ultra-processed sources was linked to more cases.

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_Canonical: https://longevity-germany.com/en/research/ultra-processed-foods-overall-not-tied-to-colorectal-cancer · Part of Longevity Cities · Updated 2026-10-16_