A cancer dietician has revealed the two foods that should be "completely omitted" from our diets to help reduce the risk of certain cancers and diseases.

Cancer Research UK emphasises the importance of "eating a healthy, balanced diet". Some foods are recognised as carcinogenic, meaning they cause cancer - although there "aren't many foods that are proven to cause cancer."

With that in mind, cancer dietician Nichole has spoken out about the foods that are scientifically linked to an elevated risk of cancer. These are processed meats and red meat.

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Both of these foods have been associated with bowel cancer, according to Cancer Research UK. The independent charity explains: "Eating processed meat increases bowel cancer risk. Red meat is also linked to bowel cancer. The less you eat, the lower your risk."

In a video posted on TikTok, Nichole focused on process meats. She explained: "So now that we know processed meats should be completely omitted to reduce risk for colon cancer, the question is, what are processed meats?"

Both Nichole and Cancer Research UK define processed meats as any type of meat that has been "preserved" or treated in a way to enhance its taste and flavour while making it last longer.

This can include "smoking, curing, or salting the meat", or adding chemical preservatives such as nitrates and nitrites. Examples of processed meats include ham, hotdogs, bacon, chorizo, corned beef and even deli meats like pepperoni and salami.

Nichole explained some people wrongly believe deli meats are a healthier, safer choice that hasn't undergone processing, but this is not the case.

She added: "Sometimes people will think, 'well I'm going behind the counter and they're slicing it back there'. Well, that's also going to be processed meat.

"Something that's not processed meat is something that's cooked right away - so the meats that you get in the store that you need to go home and cook right away, or in a couple of days, or they'll spoil in your refrigerator.

"Those are fresh meats, those are fine - but the deli meats that can stay in your refrigerator for, like a couple weeks, and that have been preserved with so much sodium like bacon, sausages, things like that; those are processed meats.

"You really want to work to completely omit them out of your diet to reduce your risk for colon cancer."

Red meat includes any kind of beef, pork, lamb or goat. Cancer Research confirms that white meat, such as chicken and turkey, is not associated with an elevated cancer risk, nor is fresh, tinned or frozen fish.

It states: "Research shows that eating even small amounts of processed meat increases bowel cancer risk. We know for definite that processed meat is a cause of cancer. We are sure about this link like we are for other proven causes of cancer, like tobacco and alcohol.

"This doesn't mean that you will definitely develop bowel cancer if you eat processed meat, but the less you eat of it the lower your risk."

The charity categorises red meat as a "probable cause of cancer".