---
title: '9 Foods Most People Don''t Realize Cause Cancer'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=KGmZJdV6xwA'
video_id: 'KGmZJdV6xwA'
date: 2026-07-27
duration_sec: 385
---

# 9 Foods Most People Don't Realize Cause Cancer

> Source: [9 Foods Most People Don't Realize Cause Cancer](https://youtube.com/watch?v=KGmZJdV6xwA)

## Summary

This video reveals several common foods that are linked to cancer, often through contaminants or preparation methods that most people overlook. It covers aflatoxins in peanuts, pickled vegetables, salted fish, alcohol, very hot drinks, acrylamide in burnt foods, and charred meats, emphasizing that risks depend on frequency and preparation.

### Key Points

- **Aflatoxins in Peanuts** [00:15] — Fungi on peanuts produce aflatoxin B1, a potent carcinogen classified as Group 1 by IARC, linked to liver and gallbladder cancer. Risk higher in developing countries; FDA tests major US brands, so choose reputable sources and avoid moldy peanuts.
- **Pickled Vegetables and Stomach Cancer** [01:27] — Meta-analyses show 15% higher stomach cancer risk per 40g daily intake of pickled vegetables, likely due to high salt content damaging stomach lining and increasing H. pylori vulnerability.
- **Salted Fish and Nasopharyngeal Cancer** [01:57] — Salted fish (e.g., codfish) and high-salt fermented foods like commercial miso are linked to nasopharyngeal cancer, especially in Asian populations with high consumption.
- **Alcohol as a Carcinogen** [02:51] — All alcohol, including red wine, is a carcinogen. Cancer risk rises linearly with intake; occasional use has low risk, but heavy consumption increases risk regardless of drink type.
- **Very Hot Drinks and Oral/Throat Cancer** [03:40] — Coffee and tea drunk over 65°C can damage oral and throat epithelium, raising cancer risk. The temperature, not the drink itself, is the issue.
- **Acrylamide from High-Temp Cooking** [04:21] — Starchy foods cooked at high temperatures (e.g., French fries, burnt toast) form acrylamide, a potential carcinogen. Avoid deep frying as a staple and burnt food.
- **Charred Meats and HCAs/PAHs** [04:50] — Grilling meat at high heat creates heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Marinating with acidic ingredients, precooking, and trimming fat reduce carcinogens.

### Conclusion

The video highlights that many everyday foods can be carcinogenic depending on preparation and consumption frequency, but risks can be mitigated through informed choices like buying tested products, moderating salt and alcohol, avoiding burnt or charred foods, and using effective cooking methods.

## Transcript

Some foods have been linked to cancer and yet  most people have no idea. Peanuts are seen   as a harmless snack if you don't have a peanut  allergy, or even healthy. They're mostly healthy   fats if you're just eating the peanuts without  sugar added. Pretty benign, right? But some  
fungi that grow on peanuts produce toxins called  aflatoxins. And a specific kind, aflatoxin B1, is   one of the most potent carcinogens in nature. In  fact, it's classified by the International Agency  
for Research on Cancer, the IARC, as a group  one human carcinogen, meaning we have sufficient   evidence to say it can cause cancer. The risk is  especially clear for liver and gallbladder cancer.  
And people who already have a liver condition like  hepatitis, they are even more prone. Worldwide,   between five and 28% of all liver cancers can be  attributed to aflatoxin exposure. Now, the risk  
varies enormously depending where you live. In  regulated markets like the United States, the FDA   actually tests for aflatoxin in peanuts and peanut  butters. So, if you're buying major brands and  
avoiding peanuts that look off, moldy, discolored,  or shriveled as recommended by the National Cancer   Institute, then contamination is very unlikely.  It's much more common in developing countries.   Other foods with similar issues of aflatoxin  contamination include corn and some spices. Okay,  
what about vegetables? Vegetables lower risk of  cancer, right? Well, except if they're pickled,   then the signal flips. Meta analyses have found  a 15% higher risk of stomach cancer for each  
40 grams a day of pickled vegetables. In all  likelihood, this is because of the high salt   content in pickles, because we see a similar  relationship between a diet high in salt and   stomach cancer. And fish, which most people see  as a healthier alternative, and for the most part  
it is, but it depends how it's prepared and sold.  Salted fish like codfish sold in some markets is   linked to higher risk of nasopharyngeal cancer.  They've even seen this link with miso which is a  
soup. It's a fermented food. Everything would seem  to indicate it's a healthy food but it's got a lot   of salt. So you want to make your own miso and  avoid most commercial products. A lot of these   links are seen especially in Asian populations  because that's where a lot of these foods are  
eaten more often. The way this works is excess  salt damages the stomach lining over time making   it more vulnerable to H pylori, a bacteria we have  in our stomach. Obviously the amount matters as  
always. So for occasional intake we see low or  even no risk and then the risk gradually rises   with frequency of intake. Okay. How many people  avoid heavy liquor and have some wine instead?  
Especially red wine. It's seen as a sophisticated  drink. It's light. It even has a health halo for   some people. But the problem is the alcohol  itself. Alcohol is a carcinogen. And so even   though red wine has a lower alcohol content than  some forms of liquor, like scotch, for example,  
at the end of the day, it's the overall amount  and the individual susceptibility that matters.   Recent studies report essentially a linear  relationship between alcohol intake and risk   of cancer. So for occasional intake we see low  risk especially if you don't have a lot of genetic  
susceptibility and then as the intake goes up risk  goes up. Okay. What if we just skip the alcohol   altogether and drink something healthier like a  cup of coffee? Coffee is indeed much healthier.   In fact most of the data for coffee shows lower  risks of cancer especially liver and endometrial  
cancer. But in some circumstances, coffee can  raise risk of cancer, specifically oral and   throat cancer. And that's if we drink it very hot,  over 65 degrees centigrade. Even tea, which no  
one suspects is linked to cancer, has shown this  exact same relationship when it's drunk very hot,   which some people do. So, it's less about the  composition of the drink itself in this case and   more about the temperature of the drink that can  damage the epithelium of the oral cavity and the  
throat and lead to cancer formation in the long  run. Okay, here's a couple foods where risk is   less well established in research, but there's  a plausible relationship and caution is still  
recommended. Acrylamide. So this pertains to carby  foods that are cooked at very high temperatures   like French fries or burnt toast. So you want  to avoid deep frying as a staple of your diet,  
especially industrial and also anything that's  overcooked or burnt. Meats generally seen as   healthier like poultry or fish. They can also  cause problems if they're cooked at very high   temperature to the point of charring. Surveys  have shown 80% of Americans are not aware of  
this link between overgrilled charred meats and  cancer. But charring animal flesh causes the   protein inside to react with other components  creating carcinogens like HCAs or heterocyclic  
amines. And when the fat and the juices from  the meat drip down below onto the flames, that   causes smoke to rise and that can cause another  carcinogen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,  
to deposit on the surface of the food. So some  tips to avoid this include marinating your   meats before grilling. This can powerfully reduce  carcinogen formation because of the antioxidants  
present in the herbs and spices in the marinade.  Rosemary, garlic, and turmeric are especially   potent. You want to avoid marinades with a lot of  added sugars, which makes it worse. You want to   favor marinades with citrus or vinegar. The low pH  in those marinades also helps prevent formation of  
carcinogens. Another hack is to precook large  cuts of meat on the stove or in the oven and   then finish them on the grill. So this reduces  the exposure time to the flames which minimizes  
the formation of carcinogens. Cooking at lower  temperatures is another good strategy. And also   choosing leaner cuts or trimming the visible fat  before grilling. This can reduce the flare-ups,  
the smoke, and the charring. And as a last  resort, you can cut off any charred bits that   make it onto your plate. What about dairy?  Is it true that dairy causes cancer? We went   over that question in this previous video.  So check it out, and I´ll see you in there