By We all have this thing lurking in our kitchen that can increase our risk of developing cancer
Every time I find news such as this, it scares me.
Although we look after our health by eating nourishing foods, exercising and leading a healthy lifestyle can all end because of this.
Our lives are so fleeting. But unfortunately, it takes just a couple of wrong decisions, and the buildup of those consequences can lead to deadly health outcomes.
We must be vigilant and aware of chemicals
I’m passionate about bringing awareness to cancer and how it can take you down in weeks or months — if you are lucky. Unfortunately, some cancers are genetic — whilst most are lifestyle based.
This one, in particular, is a lifestyle — but a silent one that we may not suspect by a long shot.
Growing evidence now suggests that a chemical called ‘forever’ is used in various products in our kitchens, which has been linked to several cancers.
Manufacturers use this ‘forever’ chemical widely, and it’s in the form of the following substances (referred to as PFAS):
- poly-fluoroalkyl
- perfluoroalkyl
These substances were introduced in the 1930s and were soon integrated into products, packaging, construction materials, and cosmetics.
Even though it’s useful, it’s still dangerous
As much as these chemicals are useful in a sense, saving us a lot of time and effort — they are also dangerous and linked to cancer and other illnesses when experiments are conducted on lab animals.
Showing these kinds of results in humans isn’t easy for scientists.
Human studies require the right samples.
What the research says
If conducting this research on humans through environmental exposure, you need samples before diagnosis, as cancer takes time to develop.
So, to uncover some answers, researchers were given access to a Cohort Study database, which gave them access to surveys on cancer developed in more than 200K residents in Hawaii and LA, Calif. These were undertaken through the University of Hawaii.
Of 100 people, 50 with and 50 without liver cancer were tested for ‘forever’ traces in their bodies before the cancer group became ill.
Researchers found several types of PFAS among these people and a lot more superior levels in those with liver cancer.
This investigation also revealed that the top 10 per cent of PFOS exposure were 4.5 times more likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma than those with the least exposure.
Key take away
From this research, we can link PFAS and cancer to humans.
It’s also very important for researchers to conduct further studies on how these chemicals interfere with biological processes.
For example, PFOS in some participants had impaired the liver’s ability to metabolise glucose, bile acid and branched-chain amino acids.
That resulted in unhealthy levels of fat accumulation in the organ, otherwise known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease!
Very scary findings indeed.
I would think twice about using cookware that is nonstick.
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