Over the years, it has been observed that food plays an important role in susceptibility to cancer. According to the World Health Organization, around one-third of deaths from cancer are due to what we put in our mouths — tobacco use, alcohol consumption, low fruit and vegetable intake — and how it impacts our bodies resulting, for example, in high body mass index and inability to be physically active.
The simple reason for this is that many foods have carcinogens in them. For example, acrylamide, a chemical identified as a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, forms naturally from reactions in certain types of starchy foods during the process of cooking at high temperatures. This includes common junk foods like French fries, potato chips, foods made from grains (such as breakfast cereals, cookies, and toast), and coffee.
This risk is not isolated to modern diets alone. In traditional food such as charred meats, chemicals such as heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are formed when beef, pork, fish, and poultry is cooked using high-temperature methods. These too are carcinogenic. Cancers of the digestive tract are the most common end points of consumption of harmful foods and there are pockets of population across the country where these are concentrated.
In 2003, Down To Earth reported on cancer incidence and death data in Mizoram collated from different hospitals between 1993 and 1998 by doctors. Their data suggested a high rate of cancer in the state and nearly 31 per cent of the cases were those of the digestive organs. They posited that this could be linked to consumption of smoked vegetables and meat. This practice is centuries old. Fermented pork (sa-um) and high salt intake, too, have been linked to the disease. Tobacco consumption and drinking tuibur— a liquid obtained from passing the smoke of local tobacco leaves through water — also add to the assault on the body.
At that time, the state did not have a cancer registry and the findings of the group of doctors did not get the required support but a registry was put in place. In India, data on cancer have been systematically collected since 1981 through a network of population-based cancer registries and hospital-based cancer registries and these are coordinated by Indian Council of Medical Research.
Over the years, data generated by the registry have supported the findings of the doctors. A study published in the journal JAMA in August 2025 is one study that supports the trend observed more than 20 years back. The data shows that the Northeast region has a distinct cancer pattern, with oesophageal, nasopharyngeal, and stomach cancers being common. Overall too, the lifetime risk of developing cancer in India is 11.0 per cent, while Mizoram reported lifetime risks of 21.1 per cent in males and 18.9 per cent in females.
Unfortunately, giving up the traditional diet and moving to the so-called western diet is not the solution. There is a clear link between consumption of junk food and cancer. A recent study on this link was carried out by researchers in China who analysed the global burden of disease data from 1990-2019 and found that 15-49-year-olds in 204 countries were adversely impacted by Western diets high in processed and red meats which led to stomach, colorectal and esophageal cancer burden. This was published in Translational Oncology in August 2024.
For India, this is a case for concern as Indians are consuming more and more junk food. The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey: 2023-24 shows that in rural India, food accounted for about 47 per cent of the value of the average households’ consumption. Among the food items, the contribution of beverages, refreshments and processed food has been the highest (9.84 per cent). Spend was lower on healthier options such as milk & milk products (8.44 per cent) and vegetables (6.03 per cent). Data for urban India shows a similar trend—contribution of food in MPCE was about 40 per cent and the contribution of beverages, refreshments and processed food has been the highest (11.09 per cent) in food expenditure followed by milk & milk products (7.19 per cent) and vegetables (4.12 per cent).
The JAMA study estimated 1.56 million new cancer cases and 0.87 million deaths in India for 2024. Concurrently, the Global Cancer Observatory estimated that the incidence of cancer in India will increase to approximately 2.46 million cases by 2045. Clearly, the food on our table needs to change. Over years, studies have shown that a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and other plant foods can help lower risk for many cancers. This is the direction in which we need to move.