Our food culture is very rich, but even in such a rich food atmosphere, there are more and more harmful foods. In fact, many of the foods we eat in our daily lives contain carcinogens, so now More and more people are suffering from cancer, so cancer is actually very close to us. So what are the carcinogens in daily life? What are the carcinogens?
1. What are carcinogens
Carcinogens, as the name suggests, are substances that can induce cancer in humans. Carcinogens in a broad sense should be called carcinogens, including any chemical, physical, and biological substances that can increase the risk of human cancer, as well as lifestyle and work styles, etc.
In 1965, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a subsidiary of the World Health Organization, was established. Since its founding, the organization has begun work to identify carcinogens. Every year, IARC releases authoritative information and updates information on carcinogens in a timely manner. Finally, IARC determined the concept of carcinogens and classified them into 4 categories.
2. Category 1 carcinogens
Category 1 carcinogens refer to substances with clear carcinogenic effects. The more common ones in our lives include tobacco, alcoholic beverages, betel nut, aflatoxin, asbestos, etc.
3. Category 2A carcinogens
Category 2A carcinogens refer to substances that are more likely to cause cancer. In fact, it refers to substances that have been proven to have clear carcinogenic effects in animal experiments, but the evidence from human studies is still relatively limited. The more common ones in life include acrylamide, high-temperature fried foods, high-temperature oil fumes, reversed work and rest, inorganic lead compounds, etc.
4. Category 2B carcinogens
Category 2B carcinogens are substances with low carcinogenic potential. The evidence for the carcinogenic potential of this type of substance in animal experiments and human studies is currently not very strong. Common ones in life include chloroform, bracken, DDT (a pesticide), nitrobenzene, gasoline (car exhaust), non-ionizing radiation (radiation from mobile phones, radio frequency electromagnetic fields emitted by computers, WiFi devices, etc.), etc.
5. Category 3 carcinogens
Category 3 carcinogens refer to carcinogens that cannot be classified yet. There are two main types of so-called carcinogens that cannot yet be classified: one refers to those with insufficient carcinogenic evidence from animal experiments and population studies; the other refers to those with sufficient evidence from animal experiments, but population studies clearly show no carcinogenic effects. Common carcinogens in daily life include caffeine, xylene, saccharin, diazepam, electrostatic fields, organic lead compounds, etc.
6. Category 4 carcinogens
Category 4 carcinogens are substances that may not be carcinogenic to the human body. This means that there is insufficient evidence to prove that it is carcinogenic in relevant studies. Currently, there is only one type of "caprolactam" in the information released by the World Health Organization.
7. How to deal with carcinogens
1. Carcinogens in Category 1 and Category 2A should be avoided as much as possible. The country has also introduced public health policies to reduce population exposure levels. , and at the same time, we should try to avoid contact with these substances in our lives.
2. For Class 2B carcinogens, the country does not need to issue public health policies, and personal protection is not mandatory. For example, there is currently insufficient evidence to confirm that non-ionizing radiation has carcinogenic effects, so no country has adopted public policies claiming that non-ionizing radiation will affect health and restrict its use. However, some authoritative organizations have still given some suggestions for individuals to reduce their exposure to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones, including reducing use time and using hands-free devices to make calls.
3. We don’t need to pay too much attention to carcinogens in categories 3 and 4, because current relevant research has not found that they can cause cancer.
8. Tips
No matter what type of carcinogen it is, the carcinogenic intensity has nothing to do with the classification of the carcinogen; the classification of the carcinogen only tells us the level of evidence of the carcinogen. The intensity of carcinogenesis is related to the characteristics of the carcinogen itself and the exposure level (dose) of the carcinogen. Therefore, just having a few drinks or smoking a few times does not mean you will develop cancer. However, long-term and heavy drinking and smoking will significantly increase the risk of cancer.
If you quit smoking and drinking, and avoid exposure to carcinogens, you can certainly reduce your risk of cancer.
9. Eating habits
Poor eating habits increase the chance of exposure to carcinogens, such as high-fat diet, preference for hot and blanched foods, addiction to tobacco and alcohol, etc. Although these cannot directly cause cancer, they are all carcinogens. Another example is that they like to eat sauerkraut, pickles and meat products. These foods contain high levels of nitrite, which can synthesize carcinogenic nitrosamines both inside and outside the human body.