Ready meals, fast food, oven-ready food, crisps, cakes, snacks and even bread are all UPF

Women who consume high amounts of ultra processed food (UPFs) are at higher risk of developing a potential precursor to bowel cancer, a new study suggests. Experts said that the study provides insight on how diet can influence early changes in the bowel.

Writing in the journal Jama Oncology, experts said that women who regularly eat more servings of UPFs – such as processed sauces, crisps, processed meats and many ready meals – are at a significantly higher risk of developing a growth in the bowel called an adenoma. These growths are a type of polyp and are not cancerous, but they can develop into cancer over a long period of time.

Most bowel cancers develop from an adenoma. Researchers have been t

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