Patients with esophageal cancer should increase their intake of white meat, reduce red meat, and not eat processed meat.
A study found that processed and red meats are risk factors for esophageal cancer, and that grilling and frying in particular can significantly increase the risk of esophageal cancer. In contrast, white meat such as fish is associated with a reduced risk of esophageal cancer, which can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer by 20%. Processed meat is a class 2A carcinogen, and red meat increases the risk of esophageal cancer by 26%.
Therefore, patients with esophageal cancer should increase the proportion of fish, shrimp, chicken, duck, and poultry, limit red meat such as beef, lamb, and pork to no more than one tael per day (about one tael of meat the size and thickness of the palm of one hand), avoid barbecue and deep-fried cooking, and completely eliminate processed meats such as sausage.