Are there any carcinogens hidden in your home? Check now! Many people don’t know yet

With the development of science and technology and the improvement of living standards, people are exposed to more and more chemical products and other substances in their daily lives .

In addition, the airtightness of modern houses is lower than that of traditional houses , which also leads to the easy accumulation of harmful substances indoors. Some substances are even carcinogenic and worthy of attention and prevention. Below we list the possible carcinogens in the room.

01

Potential carcinogens in the kitchen

The primary carcinogen is cooking fumes .

The fumes produced during the high-temperature preparation of meat (such as frying, deep-frying, grilling, and burning) contain compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic aromatic amines, and polychlorinated biphenyls, which can enter the human body through the respiratory tract, damage DNA, and increase the risk of lung cancer, bladder cancer, and kidney cancer. For safety reasons, it is recommended to cook meat by boiling, steaming, and stewing .

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

The second is aflatoxin produced by food spoilage .

Hot and humid weather usually causes corn, rice, peanuts, cotton seeds and nuts to grow mold and breed fungi such as Aspergillus flavus, which in turn produces aflatoxin, which is then ingested into the body along with the food. Aflatoxin is relatively stable and not easily degraded.

The main organ damaged by aflatoxin is the liver. Acute damage often causes liver necrosis (mostly in children, but adults have a certain tolerance), and chronic damage causes cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, there is no way to fundamentally eliminate aflatoxin. It is best to stay away from foods that have been stored for a long time or are obviously moldy .

The third is nitrosamines .

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer found that a large amount of nitrates and nitrites are produced during the processing of bacon. These compounds are converted into nitrosamines in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby increasing the risk of colon cancer or gastric cancer. Nitrosamines are also listed as Class 2A carcinogens. In view of this situation, the general recommendation is to reduce the intake of processed meat to reduce the risk .

02

Potential carcinogens in bathrooms

The first is formaldehyde . Formaldehyde is a colorless, irritating gas, and the most common source indoors is the release of newly renovated houses or new furniture.

Some poor quality bathing and daily chemical products , such as nail polish, shampoo, conditioner, baby wash, shower gel, facial cleanser and eye shadow, may use bronopol and imidazolidinyl urea compounds as preservatives, which will also release a certain amount of formaldehyde, which may cause harm to the human body.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Next are phthalates and parabens .

Some baby care products such as lotions, shampoos, emulsions and scented talcum powders contain phthalates; some low-quality cosmetics, facial cleansers, shower gels, deodorants and shampoos use parabens as preservatives. These substances have potential estrogenic activity and can cause endocrine dysfunction, which may induce early puberty and developmental defects in girls, and may also increase the risk of breast cancer in adult women .

03

Possible carcinogens in the bedroom, study or living room

The first is smoking . There are about 350 million smokers in China. With smoking banned in public places, smoking indoors at home has become an important way of smoking. Smoking is not only harmful to the smoker (active smoking), but also causes great harm to people around (passive smoking). What is more serious is that some substances stay indoors and cause long-term harm.

Smoking produces thousands of chemicals, including more than 70 that are known to cause cancer, including nicotine, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead and arsenic. Smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer, and it also damages heart and lung function and causes other serious health problems . Therefore, for the sake of health, it is important to stay away from tobacco.

The second is radon , a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that exists in substances such as soil, rocks and building materials and is released into space.

Radon, as a radioactive substance, has been identified as a Class 1 carcinogen. It does not cause much harm under natural conditions , but there are two situations in which the risks are higher : one is a relatively closed space where radon cannot be effectively released; the other is the use of radon-rich materials . For example, if some granite, marble and other panels are used during decoration, and the room is closed for a long time, it may cause the radon concentration to be too high, eventually exceeding the normal standard and causing harm.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

In addition, radon may increase the risk of childhood leukemia . It should be noted that the risk of lung cancer increases dramatically when both smoking and excessive radon are present , and tobacco usually contains excessive radon.

In short, the environment we live in is not without risks, but there is no need to worry too much, and cancer is not caused by a single factor. The purpose of being familiar with the existence of these harmful substances is to minimize contact (it is difficult to avoid them completely) so as to achieve the goal of good health.

Expert of this article | Dr. Guo Xiaoqiang, a popular science writer in the field of life sciences

This article was reviewed by Li Nannan, Director of the Hunan Science Writers Association, Deputy Director of the Research and Publicity Department of the Hunan Science and Technology Association, Second-level Researcher, Chinese Science Writer (Medical); Zhang Xueyong, Professor of Anhui Jianzhu University

The cover image and the images in this article are from the copyright library

Reproduction of image content is not authorized