When you’re a hundred years old and still giving lectures, writing articles, and cooking alone, you command respect. And when you’re an oncologist with over 50 years of experience, your words deserve special attention.

At a prestigious medical conference in Tokyo, Dr. Mariko S., an extraordinary woman with a century-old story who has retained a keen mind and professional passion, shared something that comes not from textbooks, but from life:

“I’ve seen hundreds of cancer diagnoses.”

If I had to choose only two foods that I would categorically exclude from my plate, these would be them.

1. Processed Meat – The Hidden Carcinogen of Everyday Life

Sausages, salami, hot dogs, bacon: familiar and convenient, but dangerous. Processed meat is classified by the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen, along with tobacco and asbestos.

Processing methods – smoking, drying, adding nitrites and preservatives – create substances such as nitrosamines, which can damage DNA and cause mutations.

According to a large-scale study published in the British Medical Journal, just 50g of processed meat per day (the equivalent of a ham sandwich) increases the risk of colon cancer by 18%.