The Most Common Carcinogens To Know & Avoid

Carcinogens are any materials linked to increased cancer rates. Most carcinogens are objects that cause damage to cells in the human body. We might not notice every time a cell is damaged, but it can end up causing problems. Any time a cell has to repair itself or grow a new cell, there is a small chance of the cell mutating into cancerous cells. Products that cause cancer repeatedly damage cells, significantly increasing the possibility of a mutated cancerous cell arising. Many commonly used products can actually be carcinogenic. Here are the top carcinogens to be aware of.

Ultraviolet Radiation

Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun and other sources are a leading cause of skin cancer. As the rays of the sun touch the skin, they cause damage to the skin cells. Any time you get a tan, your risk for skin cancer increases slightly, and having a sunburn raises this risk even more. This carcinogen is almost impossible to avoid altogether, but lots can be done to lower one's risk.

Whenever possible, avoid staying in the sun for longer than fifteen minutes without protection. Never tan in a tanning bed or outside. Keep in mind UV radiation can easily pass through windows and thin clothing, so you may need to wear sunscreen even when not in direct sunlight. UV rays also reflect off of other surfaces, so exposure is possible while standing in the shade. To block UV rays, wear a strong sunscreen with an SPF of at least thirty and reapply it regularly.

Formaldehyde

Most individuals are just familiar with this substance because it is used as a common preservative for the corpses used in science labs. However, this substance also shows up in many other places. The material is also used to make particle board, furniture glues, fabrics, insulation, lotions, soaps, carpeting, paper towels, tissues, and insulation.

For a long time, there was a lot of debate about whether or not formaldehyde was dangerous. Though it is true some naturally exists in the human body, many researchers started to link it to cancer. Inhaling it regularly causes inflammation and oxidative stress. Beginning in 2011, the National Toxicology Program formally declared formaldehyde a known carcinogen. Unfortunately, it is hard to avoid this substance altogether, but you can keep exposure to safe levels by selecting solid wood furniture, carefully reading labels on personal care products, and regularly opening doors and windows.

Asbestos

This is a type of naturally occurring mineral substance with a soft, fluffy feel. This cotton candy like silicate is resistant to heat, so it was frequently used as an insulation and a fireproof material, and throughout the 1900s, the mineral was regularly used in countless everyday products. Unfortunately, the thin fibers are easily inhaled, even when they have been mixed into other substances. The tiny fibers irritate the lungs and frequently cause lung cancer.

Asbestos can also cause mesothelioma, a type of rare cancer of the internal organ linings. Over eighty percent of all people with mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos at some point. The material may be outlawed in the United States, but it is not banned everywhere, and individuals can still encounter it when using foreign goods or older items. Many aging houses still have a lot of the product in them. You can reduce your risk by testing your home to see whether or not it has asbestos.

Tobacco

For a long time, tobacco was one of the leading causes of cancer. It is most commonly associated with lung cancer, because constantly inhaling the smoke damages the lungs so much, but it can cause cancers in other parts of the body. As social attitudes towards it change, fewer individuals are getting cancer from smoking cigarettes. However, even those who do not smoke are at risk. Using chewing tobacco or snuff is also quite dangerous. The average smokeless substance contains at least twenty-eight types of carcinogens.

Individuals who use products that involve sniffing tobacco tend to get nasal cancers, while those who put the product in their mouth frequently get oral cancers. Those who vape and use e-cigarettes have similar rates of cancer. The primary method for avoiding this carcinogen is simply not using tobacco products, so it is important to quit using cigarettes or other items as soon as possible. Secondhand exposure can also cause problems, so try to avoid going into smoky buildings or standing right next to a person smoking.

Alcoholic Beverages

Alcoholic beverages are frequently ignored when discussing carcinogens, but they can actually cause many types of cancer. In women, alcohol increases breast cancer risk, because alcohol alters hormones and increases levels of hormones associated with breast cancer. Alcohol is also associated with an increased risk of some types of esophageal, mouth, and intestinal cancers. Alcoholic beverages cause these types because they damage the cells lining the gastrointestinal system as you drink them. If you drink heavily, you can also raise your risk of liver cancer because regular excessive alcohol consumption harms the liver.

It is best to avoid alcohol altogether, of course, but if you still want to drink, stay within liquor guidelines. Try to avoid drinking more than one drink a day or more than four drinks on a single occasion. Keep in mind a drink is usually defined as twelve ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor.

Radon

An abundance of epidemiological and biological data and evidence has been established that shows the association between the development of lung cancer and exposure to radon. Radon is a radioactive gas that is naturally occurring on the earth when an element called uranium goes through a natural radioactive decay process. Radon can be found in water, rocks, and soil, and can easily make its way into the air an individual breathes. When radon escapes into the air outdoors, it rapidly dilutes and does not cause much of a problem or health concern.

However, radon concentrations become much higher indoors and in water treatment facilities, mines, and caves. When an individual inhales the radioactive particles of radon, they are deposited in the cells that make up the airway linings. These particles cause damage and may induce mutations or alterations in the cellular DNA. Repeated exposure to higher concentrations of radon indoors causes enough of these mutations or alterations that carcinogenesis takes place, and cancer develops in the lungs.

Radiation From Medical Imaging Tests

Radiation from certain medical imaging tests has proven in multiple studies to be a known carcinogen. The type of radiation used in x-rays, nuclear imaging, and CT scans is referred to as ionizing radiation. The highest concentrations of ionizing radiation are used in nuclear imaging. In nuclear imaging, a contrast agent is used to highlight the soft tissues in a patient's body on the CT scan or x-ray images so the provider can see the function and structure of the soft tissues. The radioactive substance used as a radioactive tracer may be elements such as technetium, gallium, xenon, thallium, and iodine.

The tissues in the body being studied absorb the element and give off radiation, which is detected by a special part of the machine called a gamma camera. After frequent scans over a long time, the radiation absorbed by the cells of the tissues and organs being scanned can cause alterations in the DNA of the cells. DNA mutations can set off the process of carcinogenesis, which causes cancer to develop in the tissues exposed to these radioactive substances repeatedly.

Drinking Water Contaminants

Several drinking water contaminants have been officially identified as carcinogens. There are currently ninety contaminants in drinking water that are regulated by the environmental protection agency. The maximum contaminant level is the largest amount of each contaminant permitted to be in public water systems. Arsenic is one of the most common and dangerous contaminants found in public water supply that is known to have cancerous effects on an individual's prostate, liver, nasal passages, lung, skin, kidney, and bladder. Radium is a contaminant found in public water sources that can cause carcinogenesis due to its radioactive properties.

Chloramine in public water sources causes the generation of byproducts called nitrosamines, which can trigger carcinogenesis. Uranium is a radioactive chemical that may be found in public water sources that expose tissues in the body to carcinogenic radiation. One water contaminate called dioxane can be found in the public water supply from industrial spills, wastewater plant discharge, and hazardous waste sites, and is known to cause respiratory, liver, and gallbladder cancers.

Processed Meat

The frequent consumption of processed meat can increase an individual's risk of developing certain kinds of cancer. Processed meats like hot dogs, sausages, salami, and bacon hold a group 1 classification in the International Agency for Research on Cancer or IARC carcinogenic groups. Red meats such as lamb, pork, and beef have been given a group 2 classification. Bowel cancer is the most common cancer found in individuals who frequently consume such meats.

Certain chemicals in these meats are responsible for this increased risk for carcinogenesis by causing damage to the DNA in the cells of the bowel. Haem is a red pigment used in red meats and is known to contribute to carcinogenesis. Nitrites and nitrates are substances used in processed meats to keep them fresh for a longer period and are also known to contribute to the process of carcinogenesis. Polycyclic amines and heterocyclic amines are substances generated when certain meats are cooked at very high temperatures that have been proven to promote carcinogenesis in the bowels.

Engine Exhaust

Engine exhaust, particularly diesel exhaust, is known to be a carcinogenic substance when an individual is exposed to it regularly over long periods. Diesel is a form of fuel that is a derivative of crude oil and is used in large engines like buses, trains, trucks, farm equipment, ships, construction equipment, some cars, and generators. Soot particles and certain gases make up the exhaust that comes from the aforementioned engines fueled by diesel. These gases include substances such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, sulfur oxides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Metallic compounds, carbon, and other organic materials are the types of particles contained in the soot of diesel exhaust. The most common type of cancer known to be associated with consistent and frequent exposure to diesel exhaust is a malignancy of the lung. Miners, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, and railroad workers are at the highest risk of lung cancer development from diesel exhaust exposure. Diesel exhaust causes cancer by damaging the DNA in the cells that make up the lining of the lungs.