List of super carcinogens around you! You may come into contact with them every day without knowing it!

Everyone has cancer genes in their body

Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes

Proto-oncogenes are responsible for cell division and proliferation

Tumor suppressor genes are responsible for regulating the amount of cell proliferation

And conduct quality control

Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes restrain each other

Maintaining balance

But under the influence of carcinogens

The balance between oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes is broken

Induce cancer cells

so

If you want to avoid cancer

Stay away from carcinogens!

If you don't even know the carcinogens

How to stay away from it?

Understand the classification of carcinogens! Hard-core knowledge is a good way to be prepared

The International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization divides carcinogens into four categories based on the degree of correlation between "carcinogens" and cancer:

Class 1 carcinogens are substances that are "clearly" carcinogenic and should be avoided as much as possible.

Class 2A carcinogens are substances that are "highly likely" to cause cancer. You need to limit your intake to a certain level.

Class 2B carcinogens are substances that are "less likely" to cause cancer. The evidence of carcinogenicity found in animal experiments is not sufficient, and the evidence of carcinogenicity to humans is limited.

Class 3 carcinogens are substances that are generally considered not to cause cancer.

Class 4 carcinogens are probably not carcinogenic to humans.

Let’s go directly to the simplified version and take a look at the 7 most common Class 1 carcinogens in life. Many people come into contact with them every day or even ingest them without knowing it. Check them out quickly to see if you have been affected!

01Aflatoxin​

Aflatoxin is 68 times more toxic than arsenic ! And it is really very common in our daily life!

Many families basically use wooden chopsticks and cutting boards, which do not grow aflatoxin themselves, but food residues can easily seep into the gaps, causing mold over time and leading to the appearance of aflatoxin in the wooden tableware.

Moreover, aflatoxin is very heat-resistant, and you can't remove it even if you boil it in water ! Therefore, wooden chopsticks and cutting boards must be washed and dried, and replaced every 3 to 6 months!

Moldy peanuts, corn, and moldy and bitter nuts are also high-incidence areas of aflatoxin. If you eat them and they taste bitter, spit them out immediately!

02Nitrosamines​

Pickled foods such as sausages, bacon, Chinese salted fish, processed meats such as ham and bacon, and overnight vegetables that you don't want to throw away after two days of not finishing them, all have relatively high nitrite content. In the stomach acid environment, nitrite is easily converted into nitrosamines, which are extremely carcinogenic.

It is recommended that you eat less pickled foods and processed meat, and do not eat overnight vegetables!

03Benzopyrene​

Benzopyrene is commonly found in barbecue . When the oil temperature is too high, especially when it exceeds 300°C, the lipids will undergo thermal cracking reactions, producing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the most notorious of which is "benzopyrene". The higher the temperature, the closer the food is to the fire, and the higher the fat content of the meat, the more benzopyrene there will be.

In addition, cooking fumes may also contain benzopyrene. Therefore, the kitchen range hood should be turned on early and off late. It should be turned on before adding oil, and turned off after three to five minutes after cooking to more effectively exhaust kitchen fumes. When cooking, reduce the use of stir-frying, frying, and deep-frying to produce fumes, and use more cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, and cold dishes .

04Formaldehyde​

Formaldehyde mainly exists in decoration materials, furniture and some daily products. Newly renovated houses or newly purchased furniture may release formaldehyde.

It is recommended to use environmentally friendly materials for decoration! In addition, the newly renovated house must be ventilated and formaldehyde tested.

05Betel nut

The chemical substances in betel nut form nitroso after chewing, which is a clear carcinogenic compound. In addition, chewing betel nut can easily cause mechanical trauma to the oral mucosa.

Moreover, chewing betel nut is highly addictive, and once you start chewing it, it may be difficult to quit.

Cherish life and stay away from betel nut!

06 Smoking

Smoking includes active smoking and passive inhalation of secondhand smoke.

Many substances produced during smoking are carcinogenic, such as nicotine, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead and arsenic.

Therefore, it is recommended to quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke.

07 Alcohol

Once alcohol enters the body, it can not only cause cancer by damaging the gastrointestinal mucosa, causing toxicity to liver cells, and affecting hormone levels, but its metabolite acetaldehyde is also a carcinogen .

In addition, people who easily blush after drinking alcohol actually lack acetaldehyde dehydrogenase secretion in their bodies . In other words, ethanol can be metabolized into acetaldehyde, but acetaldehyde cannot be metabolized smoothly. Acetaldehyde acts on cells for a long time, and the risk of cancer is higher.

Therefore, the healthiest amount of alcohol consumption is not to drink at all !

Talking about toxicity without considering the dosage is just nonsense!

"Quantitative change determines qualitative change." Whether a carcinogen causes cancer depends on the amount of exposure, frequency of exposure, cumulative exposure time, etc. For example, eating barbecue occasionally will not cause harm to the body, but eating barbecue every meal will cause a big problem.

For carcinogens that can be avoided, try to avoid contact; if contact cannot be avoided, minimize contact as much as possible.

Appendix: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

Common carcinogens in the Class 1 carcinogen list