12 myths about carcinogens

It is impossible to predict which carcinogens are dangerous in your case and which ones can be ignored. Too much depends on a random combination of circumstances.

3. If you avoid all chemicals and lead a healthy lifestyle, you won’t get cancer

“People used to eat normal food, breathe clean air, don’t wash with chemicals – and they didn’t get cancer!” You’ve probably heard something like that. Many people associate carcinogenicity with synthetic, artificially created substances or phenomena. But in fact, there is no such connection.

Quite natural factors also lead to DNA mutations that trigger the development of malignant cells : a monotonous diet, fungi that live on certain types of nuts and grains, and certain infections.

Moreover, scientists from Johns Hopkins University have discovered that two-thirds of mutations that lead to cancer arise from random errors in the natural copying of DNA. And only the remaining part is caused by carcinogens.

4. There are no carcinogens in fruits, vegetables and nuts

This is often thought because plant foods are rich in antioxidants . These are substances that protect the body from free radicals that can cause DNA mutations.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; a division of the WHO ) has compiled a list of carcinogens. The constantly updated list also includes “plant” items. For example, coconut oil and aloe are potentially carcinogenic.

Or the most powerful carcinogen – aflatoxins. These dangerous compounds are produced by mold fungi that settle on long-stored grains and nuts, in peanut butter.

As for vegetables and fruits, any of them, even grown without fertilizers , contain nitrates – salts of nitric acid, necessary for development and growth. These are natural substances that plants receive from the soil. When nitrates enter the human body, they turn into toxic nitrites, and those – into carcinogens nitrosamines.

The nitrate content in quality vegetables and fruits is low and therefore does not pose a serious danger. However, in plant foods grown using nitrogen fertilizers, the concentration of these salts may be increased.

Another risk factor is pesticides. These chemical weed killers are carcinogenic and have been linked to the development of, among other things, leukemia, brain cancer, prostate cancer, and kidney cancer.

5. Drinking a lot of coffee can cause cancer

Indeed, coffee is on the IARC list of carcinogens. But here we need to take a closer look at what this list represents.

All substances and effects studied by IARC are assigned a special digital code that reflects their degree of danger.

• 1 – carcinogenic to humans.
• 2A and 2B are potentially carcinogenic to humans. Category A (“highly likely to cause cancer”) is more dangerous than B (“possibly causes cancer”). In both cases, the conclusions are based on a limited number of studies and are not considered definitive.
• 3 — Not classifiable as carcinogenic to humans. This means there is no evidence of a link between the substances and cancer in humans, but it is sometimes seen in animal studies.
• 4 – non-carcinogenic to humans.

Coffee is classified as Category 3: not carcinogenic to humans.

6. If you eat meat and sausage, you will definitely get cancer

But this claim has more solid grounds. Red meat (pork, beef) is classified by IARC as category 2A. And meat products – sausages, salami, smoked meats – are assigned code 1. The same group includes such known carcinogens as cigarette smoke, solar and X-ray radiation, exhaust gases and, for example, plutonium.

But are sunlight and ham or beef jerky as harmful as X-rays and plutonium?

Of course not. As WHO explains , if substances or effects are in the same category, this does not mean that they are equally dangerous. The IARC classification only reflects the degree of certainty of scientific evidence that a particular factor causes cancer. But it does not assess the risks, that is, the frequency and speed of DNA mutations.

So, the connection between meat and cancer (specifically colorectal cancer) has been established. But meat products do not lead to oncological processes quickly and not always: much depends on how many steaks or sausages you eat.

According to WHO, daily consumption of 50 grams or more of meat products increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18% compared to those who eat less. However, the same WHO does not call for giving up red and processed meat altogether, but only reducing its amount in the diet, rightly pointing out that animal protein is important for health.

7. The main carcinogens are stress and resentment

The myth about the psychosomatic nature of cancer is very widespread. Some believe that oncology is caused by accumulated and unspoken grievances. Others call cancer “a self-destruction program for those who have failed to learn to love themselves.”

However, there is no scientific evidence that resentment, stress, or any other negative (or positive) emotions could lead to DNA mutations.

Another issue is that people who experience constant stress often develop bad habits – they start smoking, drinking, overeating, and limit their physical activity. This lifestyle really does increase the risk of developing cancer. This is directly stated by the WHO, which names the following as the most common “behavioral” causes of death from cancer:

• high body mass index ;
• low consumption of fruits and vegetables;
• lack of physical activity;
• smoking and addiction to alcohol.

Conclusion: we should be wary not so much of stress and resentment, but of an unhealthy lifestyle in general.

8. If you fry food in a Teflon pan (especially if it is scratched), the food will become carcinogenic.

This myth has some basis. Teflon non-stick coatings are sometimes made from materials containing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a probable carcinogen (IARC Group 2A). When heated, this substance could theoretically be released into the air.

In practice, however, it has not been possible to confirm the danger of such a coating. For example, Robert Walk, a professor of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of the book What Einstein Said to His Chef, reminds us that the production of non-stick cookware is a long process that includes heating to high temperatures. So all the perfluorooctanoic acid leaves the coating before the pan even gets to the store.

9. Microwaves add carcinogens to food

A microwave oven heats food, but it doesn’t change its chemical or molecular structure. And microwave radiation doesn’t change the DNA in your cells, for the simple reason that it’s inside the oven and you’re outside.

Some people are afraid to stand near working microwaves. But the WHO never tires of repeating : working ovens are safe, and their radiation outside the closed door tends to zero. If you are still worried, just move half a meter away from the switched-on device: at this distance, the level of even the minimal radiation that could theoretically be recorded near the door will decrease a hundredfold.

10. Radiation from mobile phones causes cancer

There are no studies yet that have established a link between cell phone use and the development of tumors.

But scientists are playing it safe. That’s why IARC has classified the entire spectrum of radiofrequency radiation, of which mobile signals are a part, as “possibly carcinogenic” (category 2B). By comparison, the same group includes pickled vegetables and talc.

11. Regular shampoos contain carcinogens, so you need to switch to organic ones

The ability to cause cancer is most often attributed to sodium lauryl and laureth sulfates, surfactants that are found in many shampoos, shower gels, face washes, dishwashing liquids, and other detergents. And this is a clear misconception.

Neither sodium lauryl nor sodium laureth sulfate are on the IARC list of carcinogens or on a similar list compiled by the US Environmental Protection Agency. So switching to more expensive (and not always effective) organic cosmetics solely out of fear of getting cancer makes no sense.