Among the "carcinogenic foods" that are circulating wildly in the circle of friends, which one can really cause cancer?

Do you often see this kind of articles in your circle of friends or in the "Loving Family" group chat: "Eat more of this kind of food and you will never get cancer!", "Cancer comes from the mouth, this kind of food on the table can cause cancer!"...

For example, can overnight food cause cancer? Can eating instant noodles cause cancer? Can drinking red wine prevent breast cancer? These may sound reasonable at first glance, but in fact they are alarmist and lack scientific basis.

Today, let’s debunk the common cancer-causing and cancer-prevention rumors in life one by one.

explain:

Some green leafy vegetables contain nitrates. If they are left for too long after being cooked, nitrates will turn into nitrites (which cannot be removed by heating). When nitrites enter the stomach, they will produce nitrosamines under the action of gastric acid. Nitrosamines are the real carcinogenic ingredients.

However, only long-term, large-scale, and continuous intake of nitrite can cause cancer. For example, eating hundreds of kilograms of overnight food every day can reach a carcinogenic dose.

remind:

When leftover food is exposed to the air, bacteria and microorganisms will ferment and multiply. Eating it may cause gastrointestinal infection, diarrhea, food poisoning, etc., so it is recommended to cook and eat it now.

explain:

Bracken contains prototaxol, a genotoxic carcinogen that may induce cell deformation. However, there is a risk of cancer only if the amount is large and the frequency of consumption is high.

remind:

After cooking and heating, prototaxol can quickly dissolve in water.

🔹Therefore, when eating bracken, it is best to process it with wood ash, alkaline water or blanching before cooking it.

🔹Do not eat pickled ferns, raw ferns, cold ferns, etc.

explain:

Qualified barrel instant noodles produced by regular manufacturers do not pose a risk of cancer. However, there are two versions of the rumor that it causes cancer. Let's analyze them separately.

Rumor 1: Instant noodle buckets are made of polyethylene, which releases styrene when heated and can cause cancer.

Polyethylene is a safe, non-toxic, stable and heat-resistant plastic material. Its depolymerization temperature needs to be above 280°C and its softening temperature needs to be between 110°C and 120°C.

Therefore, the temperature of regular instant noodles cannot reach the depolymerization temperature. Even if they are "bombed" in a microwave oven, it cannot reach that temperature, so no styrene will be released at all.

In addition, plastic barrels made of polyethylene are "white pollution" and are not conducive to environmental protection. Currently, most manufacturers have adopted more environmentally friendly paper barrels.

Rumor 2: The coating on the wall of the instant noodle bucket is waterproof paraffin, which will dissolve when exposed to heat and can cause cancer.

First of all, there is no wax on the wall of the instant noodle bucket, but a polyethylene coating.

Secondly, using wax as a coating is not worth the cost for manufacturers. Edible wax is expensive and has poor water resistance, while industrial wax is not allowed to be added and is illegal.

Again, the stomach wall and intestines are smooth, so even if the wax is ingested, it is difficult for it to adhere to the inner wall of the digestive tract and will eventually be excreted with the feces.

remind:

Even if instant noodles are not carcinogenic, it is not recommended to eat them frequently:

🔹First, it has little nutrition (the dehydrated vegetables in it also have little nutrition);

🔹Secondly, the seasoning packet contains high levels of oil and salt, as well as preservatives, so it is unhealthy to eat for a long time.

explain:

There is currently no reliable research showing that garlic or garlic extract as a single food can reduce the risk of cancer, but moderate amounts of fruits and vegetables can!

remind:

Whether it is onions, garlic, or other vegetables, no single vegetable has anti-cancer effects. If you want to prevent cancer, you still need to have a balanced diet and develop good eating habits.

explain:

The causes of cancer are many and complex, and lemon water alone cannot achieve any therapeutic effect.

But lemon is a very healthy food, rich in vitamin C, organic acid and fruit acid. Drinking lemon water in moderation is good for your health.

remind:

For people fighting cancer, they should eat more natural and fresh food, and try to choose cooking methods such as raw, steamed, and boiled, and avoid stir-frying, baking, and frying. At the same time, they should control the intake of carbohydrates and not eat too much.

explain:

It has been a long-standing topic that red wine can fight cancer (breast cancer) because it contains the anti-cancer substance resveratrol.

In fact, there are only small amounts of resveratrol in red wine, which is mainly found in the skins and seeds of grapes.

However, red wine contains a high alcohol content. The World Health Organization has confirmed that more than 7g of alcohol a day, which is about 50ml of red wine, can have adverse effects on the body, especially affecting cardiovascular health.

Therefore, if you want to prevent cancer by drinking red wine, it is healthier and more effective to eat grapes.

remind:

Currently, there is no specific means of preventing breast cancer. The main way to prevent it is to enhance immunity and reduce the probability of illness through a healthy lifestyle, a reasonable diet and exercise, and a good psychological adjustment mechanism.

In addition to the above rumors about cancer-causing and cancer-preventing diseases, what other rumors have you heard? Leave them in the comments section and let’s discuss them together. Maybe the next issue will address the issues you care about~