Are canned foods considered a safe alternative or a cancer risk?

Canned foods are considered a food alternative due to the lack of fresh foods, whether vegetables, fruits, meat, or fish. However, nutrition experts recommend that daily meals be based on whole foods and stay away from manufactured or processed foods, which leads us to believe that all canned foods It's not healthy, but that's not really true.

Are canned foods considered a safe alternative or a cancer risk?

Canned foods are generally considered safe, but within certain criteria, including the expiration date of the product, as it is preferable to use canned goods whose shelf life does not exceed one year from the date of their production, and also the types of preservatives present in them, and the quantity of what is consumed from them every week.

Canned goods are manufactured according to certain quality standards and are subject to control. Their contents are selected after sorting and canning the products. They are also subjected to high temperatures for sterilization to preserve them for the longest possible period.

Everyone Needs to Know Fact-Are Canned Foods Safe?

What is the effect of eating canned food for a period exceeding six months daily?

Nutritionists have revealed that it is often believed that canned foods contain lower nutritional values than fresh or frozen foods, but research indicates that this information is not always correct. The canning process preserves most of the nutrients in the food, such as Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, which are not affected by the canning process.

However, given that the canning process is subject to high temperatures, some water-soluble vitamins will be destroyed, such as vitamin C and the B group of vitamins, as is the case when cooking. However, on the other hand, it may lead to increased concentrations of other healthy compounds, such as antioxidants. ٍ

On the other hand, the problem with canned food is that it contains many preservatives, artificial colors, color stabilizers, and artificial sweeteners, in addition to many chemicals to preserve them for the longest possible period. The more consumption increases, the more it accumulates in the human body and increases above the normal level, leading to the emergence of some carcinogenic diseases, such as prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women.

What is the best use of canned food?

The danger lies in the frequent use of canned food, so it is preferable to eat them less than three times a week, also taking optimal use before eating canned food, by washing the contents of the package and soaking it in water for a quarter of an hour, to get rid of preservatives and salts that cause high blood pressure, heart and kidney diseases.

When opening a package of canned food, it is preferable to use it as it becomes susceptible to spoilage, so it is always preferable to cook it, or to store it in plastic or glass containers and not to store the residual in the box itself and to dispose of the metal package.

It is preferable not to heat canned food over a fire because heating it may lead to the formation of some harmful substances, and the leakage of the chemical (bisphenol A) into the contents of the package, and it becomes harmful to use. Therefore, it is preferable to heat it in another container without using the liquid in the package.

Canned fish, such as tuna and sardines, are an inexpensive way to get protein and omega-3 essential fatty acids, which may help lower blood pressure, inflammation, and triglycerides.

It is preferable to consume canned fish with oil rather than water because the percentage of salts in it is lower. In general, it is preferable not to eat canned tuna more than three times a week, because they contain mercury, while canned sardines can be eaten daily because they contain a very small amount of mercury, and they contain three times the amount. Omega 3 is found in tuna.

As for processed meat in all its forms, the nutritionist revealed that it contains preservatives, including sodium nitrate, which interacts with the meat inside canned food. Nitrosamine, which is inside canned food, has been classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization, and it is a major cause. Colon cancer, so it is preferable to eat canned meat once or twice a week maximum.

What are the appropriate conditions for storing canned food?

It is always preferable to store canned food in a cool, dry place away from high heat, such as sunlight or near the oven, to protect it from rust, which may cause leakage from the can and thus spoilage of the food. Canned food may spoil as a result of an error in the canning process or storage conditions, or As a result of a chemical reaction occurring between the can and the food, or between the can and the surrounding environment, we must Therefore pay attention to signs of spoilage of canned food, such as:

• The bulge of the containers and the concavity of the end of the container.
• The presence of scratches or cracks allows air to enter, creating an ideal environment for bacteria to grow and food poisoning to occur.
• The color of the can has changed from the inside or there is rust on the edges and inner walls of the can.

To what extent does canned food affect the health of children and the elderly and does it have an effect on the immune system?

It should be noted that eating canned foods cannot be considered completely unhealthy for children, but they are also not considered among the food options that are preferable to be in the child’s diet for several reasons, including that they contain large amounts of salt and sugars that cause obesity, and it is also recommended to replace canned foods, with fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits.

For the child to grow naturally, it is better for him to eat healthy, and balanced food that contains a high percentage of vitamins such as fresh vegetables and fruits, and contains a high percentage of vitamins and dietary fiber, while canned food, as we mentioned previously, does not contain B vitamins well. This affects the mental and intellectual abilities of children.

Regarding the health of the immune system in children, specialists explained that when children are young, their immune system is in the formative and growth stage, so it is not strong enough to defend all the toxins contained in preservatives, which negatively affects the health of children more than adults, and causes Many problems in the intestines and stomach, as the acidic substances that are used to preserve food from spoilage are considered one of the causes of chronic as well as acute inflammation in the stomach.

Studies have recently revealed the extent of the effect of the chemical preservative (bisphosphonol A) on the elderly, as it affects the reproductive system, as well as causing changes in the level of thyroid hormone, liver performance, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. It also affects the elderly because it contains large amounts of Preservatives such as sugar and salts, which lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.

What future diseases will occur after primary dependence on eating canned goods and deprivation of eating fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat?