World Cancer Day 2025: World Cancer Day is celebrated every year on 4 February. This day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about cancer, promote its preventive measures and unite efforts globally to fight this disease.

Cancer is a disease that kills millions of people around the world and its causes include genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. One of the major reasons is our diet. Today we will talk about those 5 things whose overcooking can increase the risk of cancer. By understanding these and cooking them properly, we can reduce the risk of this deadly disease.

1) Potatoes and other starchy foods

Cooking or frying potatoes, chips, French fries and other starchy foods at high temperatures produces a harmful chemical called acrylamide. This chemical can cause cancer. This chemical starts forming when starchy foods are cooked at temperatures above 120 degrees Celsius. Therefore, cook potatoes or other starchy food items only until they are light golden and avoid them from becoming too brown or black.

2) Meat and fish

Cooking or grilling meat and fish at high temperatures produces harmful chemicals called Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). These chemicals can damage DNA and cause cancer. Cooking meat on low heat and avoiding burning can reduce this risk. Also, marinating meat reduces the formation of these chemicals.

3) Oils and Fats

Reheating the oil repeatedly or heating it to a smoking temperature produces acrolein and other harmful enzymes, which enter the body and cause oxidative stress and increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, do not reuse the oil after using it once and avoid heating it too much. Also, it is better to use healthy oils like olive oil or coconut oil .

4) Bread and bakery products

Overcooking or burning bread, toast and other bakery products can also cause acrylamide to form in them. In particular, one should avoid making the toast too brown or dark. Toasting until light golden brown is safe. Apart from this, overheating the sugar present in bakery products can also cause harmful enzymes to form.

5) Sugar and sugary foods

Heating sugar at high temperatures leads to the formation of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). These enzymes increase inflammation and oxidative stress in the body, which can increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, overcooking or burning sugary food items should be avoided. It is important to cook sweets and desserts on low flame and avoid them from browning too much.