Rung Five
Diet and food finder
May raise risk

Highly processed foods and refined grains

packaged snacks, white bread. Processed & preserved.

Verdict
May raise riskSome studies point to higher risk, but it isn't confirmed.
How sure
Rung 2 · LimitedFew, small or conflicting human studies, or only indirect measures such as blood markers.

The rung shows how sure the science is, not how big the effect is. How to read these ratings

Cancers affected

Weight-related cancers, indirectly

What the evidence shows

The American Cancer Society advises limiting highly processed foods and refined grains.

What to do

Cook from whole ingredients more often.

Sources

To take it to your doctor, print this page.

Related

Every food we rated, or follow one cancer step by step: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer.