Recently, some US cohorts have shown a moderate association between red and processed meat consumption and mortality supporting the results of previous studies among vegetarians. The aim of this study was to examine the association of red meat, processed meat, and poultry consumption with the risk of early death in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Included in the analysis were 448,568 men and women without prevalent cancer, stroke, or myocardial infarction, and with complete information on diet, smoking, physical activity and body mass index, who were between 35 and 69 years old at baseline. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the association of meat consumption with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. As of June 2009, 26,344 deaths were observed. After multivariate adjustment, a high consumption of red meat was related to higher all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01 to 1.28, 160+ versus 10 to 19.9 g/day), and the association was stronger for processed meat (HR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.66, 160+ versus 10 to 19.9 g/day). After correction for measurement error, higher all-cause mortality remained significant only for processed meat (HR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.25, per 50 g/d). We estimated that 3.3% (95% CI 1.5% to 5.0%) of deaths could be prevented if all participants had a processed meat consumption of less than 20 g/day. Significant associations with processed meat intake were observed for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and 'other causes of death'. The consumption of poultry was not related to all-cause mortality. The results of our analysis support a moderate positive association between processed meat consumption and mortality, in particular due to cardiovascular diseases, but also to cancer.

Bile acids have been proposed to promote colon carcinogenesis. However, there are limited prospective data on circulating bile acid levels and colon cancer risk in humans. Associations between prediagnostic plasma levels of 17 primary, secondary, and tertiary bile acid metabolites (conjugated and unconjugated) and colon cancer risk were evaluated in a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Bile acid levels were quantified by tandem mass spectrometry in samples from 569 incident colon cancer cases and 569 matched controls. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for colon cancer risk across quartiles of bile acid concentrations. Positive associations were observed between colon cancer risk and plasma levels of seven conjugated bile acid metabolites: the primary bile acids glycocholic acid (OR_{quartile 4 vs quartile 1}= 2.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.52 to 3.26), taurocholic acid (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.23 to 2.58), glycochenodeoxycholic acid (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.13 to 2.48), taurochenodeoxycholic acid (OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.11 to 2.36), and glycohyocholic acid (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.13 to 2.40), and the secondary bile acids glycodeoxycholic acid (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.12 to 2.54) and taurodeoxycholic acid (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.02 to 2.31). By contrast, unconjugated bile acids and tertiary bile acids were not associated with risk. This prospective study showed that prediagnostic levels of certain conjugated primary and secondary bile acids were positively associated with risk of colon cancer. Our findings support experimental data to suggest that a high bile acid load is colon cancer promotive.

Helping consumers make healthier food choices is a key issue for the prevention of cancer and other diseases. In many countries, political authorities are considering the implementation of a simplified labelling system to reflect the nutritional quality of food products. The Nutri-Score, a five-colour nutrition label, is derived from the Nutrient Profiling System of the British Food Standards Agency (modified version) (FSAm-NPS). How the consumption of foods with high/low FSAm-NPS relates to cancer risk has been studied in national/regional cohorts but has not been characterized in diverse European populations. This prospective analysis included 471,495 adults from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC, 1992–2014, median follow-up: 15.3 y), among whom there were 49,794 incident cancer cases (main locations: breast, n = 12,063; prostate, n = 6,745; colon-rectum, n = 5,806). Usual food intakes were assessed with standardized country-specific diet assessment methods. The FSAm-NPS was calculated for each food/beverage using their 100-g content in energy, sugar, saturated fatty acid, sodium, fibres, proteins, and fruits/vegetables/legumes/nuts. The FSAm-NPS scores of all food items usually consumed by a participant were averaged to obtain the individual FSAm-NPS Dietary Index (DI) scores. Multi-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were computed. A higher FSAm-NPS DI score, reflecting a lower nutritional quality of the food consumed, was associated with a higher risk of total cancer (HR_Q5 versus _Q1 = 1.07; 95% CI 1.03–1.10, P-trend < 0.001). Absolute cancer rates in those with high and low (quintiles 5 and 1) FSAm-NPS DI scores were 81.4 and 69.5 cases/10,000 person-years, respectively. Higher FSAm-NPS DI scores were specifically associated with higher risks of cancers of the colon-rectum, upper aerodigestive tract and stomach, lung for men, and liver and postmenopausal breast for women (all P < 0.05). The main study limitation is that it was based on an observational cohort using self-reported dietary data obtained through a single baseline food frequency questionnaire; thus, exposure misclassification and residual confounding cannot be ruled out. In this large multinational European cohort, the consumption of food products with a higher FSAm-NPS score (lower nutritional quality) was associated with a higher risk of cancer. This supports the relevance of the FSAm-NPS as underlying nutrient profiling system for front-of-pack nutrition labels, as well as for other public health nutritional measures.

A high intake of dietary antioxidant compounds has been hypothesized to be an appropriate strategy to reduce gastric cancer (GC) development. We investigated the effect of dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in relation to GC in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) study including 23 centers in 10 European countries. A total of 521,457 subjects (153,447 men) aged mostly 35–70 years old, were recruited largely between 1992 and 1998. Ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) and total radical‐trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP), measuring reducing and chain‐breaking antioxidant capacity were used to measure dietary TAC from plant foods. Dietary antioxidant intake is associated with a reduction in the risk of GC for both FRAP (adjusted HR 0.66; 95%CI (0.46–0.95) and TRAP (adjusted HR 0.61; 95%CI (0.43–0.87) (highest vs. lowest quintile). The association was observed for both cardia and noncardia cancers. A clear effect was observed in smokers with a significant reduction in GC risk for the fifth quintile of intake for both assays (highest vs. lowest quintile: adjusted HR 0.41; 95%CI (0.22–0.76) p for trend <0.001 for FRAP; adjusted HR 0.52; 95%CI (0.28–0.97) p for trend <0.001 for TRAP) but not in nonsmokers. In former smokers, the association with FRAP intake was statistically significant (highest vs. lowest quintile: adjusted HR 0.4; 95%CI (0.21–0.75) p < 0.05); no association was observed for TRAP. Dietary antioxidant capacity intake from different sources of plant foods is associated with a reduction in the risk of GC.

Since the classification of processed meat as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2015, an increase in consumption of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) has been observed worldwide. This occurs in a context characterized by concern for health, animal welfare, and sustainability; however, evidence of their nutritional quality is still limited. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the nutritional profile and processing degree of PBMAs available in Spain. In 2020, products from seven Spanish supermarkets were analyzed for their nutritional content and ingredients. Of the 148 products, the majority were low in sugars but moderate in carbohydrates, total and saturated fat, and high in salt. The main vegetable protein sources were soy (91/148) and wheat gluten (42/148). Comparatively, 43/148 contained animal protein, the most common being egg. Overall, PBMAs had a long list of ingredients and additives, and they were classified as ultra-processed foods (UPFs) according to the NOVA system. This study shows that the PBMAs available in Spanish supermarkets have a variable nutritional composition within and between categories. Further research is needed to determine if replacing meat with these UPFs could be a good alternative towards healthier and more sustainable dietary patterns.