Common Things That Aren't Actually Carcinogens

In a society where seemingly everything gives individuals cancer, many may not be sure what is truly safe and what should be avoided. Cancer is a terrible disease that often can be lethal. For many, there is no hope of a cure or a treatment that will help. As such, it's understandable why individuals might want to avoid certain activities and products to reduce their risk of developing it. However, information can be misleading or incorrect. To curb the rise of cancer, items and activities can fall under an umbrella that lumps them with other carcinogens when that is not the case.

Microwaving Plastic

The common claim for microwaving plastic is it releases dioxins into the food or beverage an individual is consuming. Individuals eat those dioxins, and eventually, they develop cancer. Many TV doctors have purported this, and the myth arises as individuals tend to believe these doctors on television. However, many individuals do not keep in mind news directors select these doctors to recite information they believe is newsworthy and not necessarily true or factual. That is just the state of the business.

So, the idea that heating food or drinks in the microwave in plastic containers is causing cancer is spread, even though this information is false. While doctors do agree heating plastic increases the risk of releasing harsh chemicals into the container's contents, they have yet to notice dioxins actually in the plastic. If anything, they recommend using microwave-safe plastic containers to avoid the risk of releasing harsh chemicals into food and beverages. That being said, there are no carcinogens to worry about.

Hair Dye

Individuals who love to color their hair for fun or necessity may be concerned by the opinion that hair dye can cause cancer. Like most hair treatment concoctions, hair dye is packed full of chemicals. Some of them are harsh, as they need to perform the task to get an individual's hair to be the color they want. Doctors and scientists who have examined the link between color dye and cancer, however, haven't found enough evidence to suggest there is a direct link. While there is a concern that the dye will be absorbed into the scalp and circulate throughout the body, as the scalp has excellent blood flow circulation, there is no evidence indicating it will cause cancer.

In fact, research has proven that among women, hair dye did not increase their risk of developing breast cancer. While individuals should always be aware of how much and what chemicals they are consuming, there is no evidence indicating individuals can not go out and color their hair.

Cell Phones

With the popularity of cell phones, it's understandable some might be concerned that they cause cancer or help tumors grow in certain parts of the body. This concern is especially true as parents allow their children to have varying forms of smartphones at younger and younger ages. Smartphones use radiofrequency to work. Individuals might understand radiofrequency regarding their microwave, and it is this correlation that often makes them wary about cell phones. However, the difference rests on how much radiofrequency and energy is used.

A microwave uses a high amount of radiofrequency and thus could cause damage to someone if they decided to stick their head inside of one. A smartphone does not use that much energy. At least not enough to heat the body's tissues, which is primarily where the problems would begin to arise. Researchers and scientists have conducted numerous studies to examine the effects smartphones have on the body, and they have found they do not cause cancer nor increase tumor growth.

Antiperspirants

Before individuals ditch their antiperspirant and deodorant, they might want to consider the facts. There was a rumor spread around that antiperspirants caused cancer because, after individuals shaved under their arms, they may have nicked their skin. When they applied the antiperspirant, the chemicals entered the nick and caused cancer to develop. It was also believed this was why men had smaller rates of breast cancer as they did not shave their underarms. This is simply untrue.

Researchers and scientists performed a few studies that examined the link between antiperspirant use and cancer and found no direct correlation or cause. At most, the chemicals used in the antiperspirant might cause some irritation to the skin if they enter a cut, but they are not powerful enough to cause the lymph nodes to develop into cancerous cells. Researchers also found no link between cancer and the use of deodorant or shaving armpits either.

X-Rays

Because imaging tests utilize ionizing radiation to take a picture of a patient's bones or organs, many believe they cause cancer. While radiation is, most definitely, a carcinogen, x-rays themselves, as used in imaging tests, do not necessarily cause cancer. Radiation exists naturally in the world every day. In fact, individuals interact with radiation daily. However, because it is at low doses, it doesn't harm individuals in the same way an atomic bomb would. In that case, the radiation levels are intense.

X-rays and naturally occurring radiation have a smaller amount of radiation used during a small interval. As such, the amount patients receive during an x-ray is not enough to develop cancer. However, the more individuals require an imaging test at a given time, the likelier their chances are of developing cancer. Again, this is because of consistent exposure to high amounts of radiation in an interval.

Plastic Water Bottles

Most individuals have probably heard claims that plastic water bottles left in certain environments can cause the water inside them to increase an individual's risk of developing cancer if they consume it. This is a claim based on chemicals in the plastic leaking into the bottle contents. These claims point to the substances in the plastic called Bisphenol A (BPA) and dioxins. Allegations state extreme changes in temperature, reuse, and freezing of fluids in these bottles can allow the plastic to become porous enough to leak these substances into the contained fluid inside of them. It is a true claim that chemicals from the containers food is stored in can enter the food. However, the misconception involves just how much of these substances end up in foods and drinks, and exactly how much of these substances are deemed unsafe.

Only a certain amount of such chemicals are allowed to be in the plastics used to make single-use water bottles. Only a small fraction of these substances can leak into the bottle contents when exposed to extreme temperatures. Additionally, research has proven the levels of these substances it takes to deem the contents unsafe are at minimum three times the amount permitted to be in the plastic initially used to produce the water bottles.

Artificial Sweeteners

Replacements for sugar in food and drinks such as artificial sweeteners are not much more healthy than sugar itself. Some have even made claims that artificial sweetener consumption can increase an individual's risk of developing cancer. However, no credible research currently supports allegations that implicate artificial sweeteners in the pathogenesis of cancer. This misconception was popularized when a study over three decades ago implicated a substance called cyclamate in the pathogenesis of bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Some artificial sweeteners contained cyclamate, but these were banned in 1969 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a precaution, even though the results were never replicated in humans.

Laboratory studies in rats also implicated another substance called saccharin in the pathogenesis of bladder cancer over two decades ago, but these results were also never replicated in human studies. Misconceptions surrounding an artificial sweetener called aspartame started when claims were made that a spike in brain tumor diagnosis between the years of 1975 and 1992 could be related to the new establishment of the substance in 1981. While the statistics themselves are accurate, the reasoning behind the increase in cancer is not. This claim was debunked when statistical data proved the rates of brain tumors started to spike in 1973 and started to decline in 1986, despite continued consumption of aspartame as an artificial sweetener.

Dental Fillings

Silver dental fillings were commonly used up until the introduction of white fillings, and still used presently as a cheaper alternative to white fillings. However, there have been claims made that dental amalgams or silver fillings have the potential to increase an individual's risk of developing cancer. The basis of this claim involves the composition of the silver fillings including copper, silver, tin, elemental mercury, and trace amounts of other metals. Extensive studies have been carried out on dental fillings containing mercury because it is known to be a poisonous substance to humans at certain levels and types of exposure. The claims seem to lock on to the misconception that it doesn't matter what amount of mercury is in the fillings, but exposure in any amount can be harmful.

However, this is simply not true, as the human body itself naturally contains amounts of mercury significant enough to be measured. Larger amounts of mercury vapor inhaled into the lungs can cause cellular damage that may lead to cancer, but metallic mercury used in dental fillings is non-toxic when it is swallowed. The association of occupational mercury exposure dangers with the small amount of mercury used in dental fillings is likely the driving factor behind the claims that fillings can cause cancer.