Cancer Support India

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Do hot dogs increase your risk of cancer? Gastroenterologist Dr Saurabh Sethi shares 8 foods he avoids as a gut doctor

Love grabbing a hot dog or packaged snack when you are hungry and short on time? While these foods may be convenient and satisfying, they can also contain processed meats, refined ingredients, added sugars and other additives that may not be ideal for your health when consumed regularly. In fact, highly processed foods and sugary drinks are often recommended as foods to limit rather than make a daily habit, as their effects on your health may build up silently over time.

Dr Saurabh Sethi, a California-based gastroenterologist and hepatologist with 25 years of experience, who has trained at AIIMS, Harvard and Stanford universities, has shared eight foods he refuses to eat as a gut health expert. In an Instagram post shared on August 14, the gastroenterologist explains how regularly consuming these foods could negatively affect your health and why he chooses to avoid them.

Emulsifier-heavy packaged foods

This includes foods containing artificial thickeners and emulsifiers like polysorbate 80 and carboxymethylcellulose, which are present in foods including certain packaged ice creams and processed baked goods. Dr Sethi highlights that “emerging evidence linking emulsifiers to gut inflammation and gut barrier disruption” makes them harmful additives that should be avoided. Next time to buy an ice cream, make sure to check the back label for these ingredients!

High-fructose corn syrup

High-fructose corn syrup is an artificial sweetener often present in condiments like ketchup and barbeque sauce. Dr Sethi recommends avoiding high-fructose corn syrup-laden products because they are “linked to liver fat accumulation” and can drive non-alcoholic fatty liver and other liver diseases.

Processed deli meats and hot dogs

Processed deli meats, including salami, sausages and other varieties preserved through curing, salting or smoking, can be harmful to your health when consumed regularly. These meats are commonly found in packaged and fast foods such as hot dogs, burgers and sandwiches, and are often high in calories, sodium and saturated fat while offering relatively little nutritional value. Moreover, Dr Sethi warns that processed meats rank high in “WHO Group 1 carcinogen classification for colorectal cancer.”

Diet drinks

Beverages labelled as “diet drinks” are often made with artificial sweeteners such as sucralose and saccharin. The gastroenterologist strongly advises against consuming these “artificial sweetener-heavy diet drinks”, as they show the “strongest evidence of microbiome diversity loss.” This can ultimately affect your gut health, which plays a role in far more than just digestion.

Sugary breakfast cereals

Love eating a bowl of Chocos or Fruit Loops first thing in the morning? You might want to rethink that habit. According to Dr Sethi, these popular breakfast cereals are often packed with refined carbohydrates while being marketed as convenient or seemingly healthy breakfast options.

Ultra-processed protein bars

Ever get late for work and think you’ll just grab a protein bar on the way instead of sitting down for a whole-foods breakfast? While protein bars may seem like a convenient packaged option when you’re on the go, many are highly processed and can contain a long list of added ingredients that may not be ideal when consumed regularly. Dr Sethi highlights, “Long ingredients list equals red flag.”

Canned soups

Canned soups are another ultra-processed food that can be particularly high in sodium. The gastroenterologist cautions against making canned soups a regular part of your diet, warning that “excess sodium silently harms heart health.”

Red 40 and Yellow 5

Red 40 and Yellow 5 are popular synthetic food dyes derived from petroleum used to improve product appearance. These colourants are often found in soft drinks, energy drinks, chips, candy, and breakfast cereals. The gastroenterologist emphasises “Red 40 and Yellow 5 in your kids’ snacks” are “linked to gut inflammation and hyperactivity.”

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for food, medicines, exercises and so on.

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Labels: canned soups, diet drinks, emulsifier packaged foods, high fructose corn syrup, hot dogs, processed deli meats, Red 40 & Yellow 5- synthetic food dyes, sugary breakfast cereals, ultra-processed protein bars

Heart surgeon Dr Jeremy London shares an alternative to seed oils that shows ‘30% drop in heart attacks, strokes…’

As more people become conscious of what goes into their food, cooking oils have come under increasing scrutiny, particularly with growing questions around the potential health effects of seed oils. But if you are trying to make healthier choices in the kitchen, that raises an important question: what should you actually use to cook your food? After all, you cannot exactly eliminate oil from every recipe.

Dr Jeremy London, a US board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon with 25 years of experience, has shared a simple cooking-oil swap that may offer cardiovascular benefits. In an Instagram video shared on July 6, the heart surgeon cites scientific research to support his recommendation, explaining how replacing conventional cooking oils with this particular alternative could benefit heart health and why the switch may be worth considering.

An oil that protects your heart

According to Dr London, swapping out seed oils and other cooking oils for olive oil can actually be beneficial for your heart. While a substantial body of scientific research supports the potential cardiovascular benefits of olive oil, Dr London highlights one particularly significant study that followed a large group of people over time, examining their dietary habits alongside their cardiovascular health.

He elaborates, “Is olive oil actually good for your heart? The short answer is yes, and the data is impressive. Many large cohort studies highlight the association of olive oil and decreasing heart disease. But the strongest study was a randomised controlled trial of more than 7,000 people for about five years. Participants ate a Mediterranean-style diet. One group added extra virgin olive oil – about four tablespoons a day.”

What did the study find?

While changing your dietary patterns and adopting a healthier lifestyle can have positive effects on your overall health, you might assume that adding just four tablespoons of an oil would not make much of a difference. But you would be wrong – in this case, less really is more. Even a relatively small addition of olive oil was associated with significant improvements in heart disease risk.

The heart surgeon highlights, “The result: The olive oil group saw about a 30 percent drop in heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular death combined. Stroke risk alone dropped even more.”

What’s even better?

Dr London adds that the researchers dug deeper and found that one type of olive oil may offer even greater benefits than regular olive oil. Their findings suggested that extra virgin olive oil was more effective at reducing the risk of heart disease, prompting the heart surgeon to strongly recommend it as a healthier swap worth making.

He explains, “The researchers then dove a little bit further and found that extra virgin olive oil had an even more impressive risk reduction because of the additional polyphenols as well as antioxidants. So yes, extra virgin olive oil is one of the few simple swaps the science actually backs. Adding it to your cooking is an easy win.”

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.

Dr Jeremy London is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with more than 25 years of experience. He has an MD from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, and his focus is on the intersection of lifestyle, preventive medicine, and evidence-based longevity.