11/19/2025
🎥 JAMA Oncology just dropped a big one on food and colon health, especially for younger women.
A new study of tens of thousands of women found that those who ate the most ultra-processed foods had a significantly higher risk of early-onset colorectal cancer precursors: the polyps and lesions that can turn into cancer if they are not removed. This adds to earlier data showing that ultra-processed foods raise the risk of colorectal cancer in adults in general (PMID 36477589, PMID 37360305).
What counts as ultra-processed❓
Think: packaged snacks and sweets, processed meats, sugary drinks, instant noodles, frozen “ready meals,” many fast foods. These products are often high in sugar, refined starch, unhealthy fats, salt, emulsifiers and other additives that can:
• Disrupt the gut microbiome 🦠
• Drive chronic inflammation 🔥
• Promote insulin resistance and weight gain 🧁
Over years, that combination creates a perfect storm for colon trouble.
The good news: in the same cohorts, people who ate more whole and minimally processed foods had lower risk. Simple shifts help:
🥦 Build meals around plants: vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, nuts
🥚 Choose real protein over ultra-processed deli meats
💧 Swap sugary drinks for water, tea or coffee without lots of syrup
🚶♀️ Stay active and keep up with screening like colonoscopy and stool tests
The goal is not perfection or fear around food. It is awareness: if most of your diet comes from a box or a drive-through, your colon is paying the price long before symptoms show up.
If you have a family history of colon cancer, unexplained anemia, blood in the stool, or new bowel changes, do not wait. Talk to your clinician about earlier screening and a realistic food plan.
🩺 Atrium Medical Primary Care, Midtown Manhattan: evidence based, zero food-shaming, all about prevention.
