"Does this cause cancer??"

Here is a breakdown and explanation of some of the most common carcinogens that you probably don't know about. These are all listed on the official Carcinogen reports by the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

I encourage you to take a look at this list for yourself and see if you recognize anything! If you don't recognize something, try looking it up because it might just be found in something you do recognize! Click HERE to read it for yourself!

Firstly, I would like to point out that science does not support the theory that "we live in a sea of carcinogens." Although there are many potent carcinogens, and many of them are accessible to the public, they are almost all avoidable, which is why it is important to educate yourself on carcinogens that you could potentially find yourself exposed to.

A person's risk of developing cancer depends on how much, how long, how often, and when they are exposed to these chemicals. This list is important to look at so that we can keep in mind just how many chemicals we are surrounding ourselves with everyday, because it adds up, and from there we can make decisions about what products we want to use/buy.

Two years ago I sat in my Health and Lifestyle Diseases college class, taught by a local surgeon, and watched him scroll through PAGES of the United States 14th edition Report on Carcinogens. This is basically a running list of all the known carcinogens (things that absolutely, without a doubt, cause cancer). I saw items that I used to use, have in my home, and recognize.

This just left me thinking, WHY DON'T WE TALK ABOUT THESE?? Well, this information is readily available to the public, but we don't always know about it. It is so important to educate yourself and do your own research to find the important information that is out there, but not openly shared.

Why is it that we readily accept the fact that asbestos, tobacco, and things that we can't pronounce with 30 letters in them like 1-amino-2,4-dibromoanthraquinone cause cancer, but when the SAME researchers tell us that other, more common household products are carcinogens, we turn up our noses at the science?

That same professor left our class with this wisdom in regards to carcinogens: "If you're worried, then just don't do it." Science is constantly making new discoveries, and consequently adding new carcinogens to this list every few years. At the end of the day, you have freedom over your life to choose how to live, and you can decide if you want to play it extra safe or trust that your exposure to certain substances will not cause cancer.

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Okay, now let's talk about some of the items on the lists!

(The IARC and NTP break up the lists into two categories: 1: Known Carcinogens, and 2: Suspected/Probable Carcinogens)

1. KNOWN CARCINOGENS

• Acrylamide. This is in your roasted coffee, and other things, but probably not anything that you have as often as coffee, which is why I am going to focus on it. Acrylamide can form during the Maillard reaction (when sugars and amino acids reach temperatures above 248 degrees Fahrenheit), and scientists have found that roasted coffee beans do, in fact, form acrylamide. Acrylamide will not cause cancer or harm in small amounts, but it becomes more of a concern with avid coffee drinkers. I know you have probably convinced yourself that coffee has benefits and does more good than harm, unfortunately, just like those who swear by drinking red wine every night, there are PLENTY of other ways to get the benefits you seek, without the bad stuff that these beverages contain. For example, if you want the wonderful, heart healthy, antioxidant benefits that red wine drinkers get, you don't have to start drinking alcohol, just have grapes.

• Speaking of Alcohol...that's next on the list. The body turns ethanol into acetaldehyde, which is a carcinogen. Additionally, free radicals are also produced during ethanol metabolism. Luckily, it is easy to avoid high doses of acetaldehyde by limiting your alcohol intake, and combat it's negative effects by consuming lots of phytochemicals (found in vegetables) which are known to destroy free radicals in the body. Read more about acetaldehyde and alcohol HERE and HERE. If you love your alcoholic beverages, simply keep in mind how much you are consuming, and stick to a plant-heavy diet.

• Estrogen, steroidal. So maybe think before you take estrogen steroids...read more about steroidal estrogen as a carcinogen HERE.

• Disperse Blue 1. Blue dye, commonly found in hair dyes but can also be used for dying cloth and other substances.

• Other dyes that metabolize to benzidine or 3,3'-Dimethoxybenzidine dye class. There are many dyes that fall into this category and they are used for food coloring, hair dyes, clothing and toy dyes, leather products, etc... You should always be ready to do research on anything heavily colored or dyed.

• Epichlorohydrin. Used to make plastics and glycerin. This is one of the reasons people are switching out a lot of plastic materials in their home for glass, wood, or other natural materials.

• Selenium Sulfide. OH HEY heavily advertised, commonly used in lotions, shampoos, etc, CARCINOGEN. Banned in several places around the world for it's toxicity, but still widely used in the U.S. This is a great example of free will trumping science. Free will is important, but it means that we will never see the eradication of many diseases such as cancer, because individuals will choose to use/consume known carcinogens in the name of convenience or ignorance. Selenium sulfide is a known human carcinogen, that is still used to this day to treat dandruff, fungal infections, redness, dryness, etc....Some people may turn their nose up at natural remedies, but they are becoming increasingly popular because of ingredients like Selenium Sulfide. More info on this HERE.

• Wood dust. Another one that surprised me to see on a list of known carcinogens. This is one of those carcinogens that is a workplace exposure/occupational concern, as it is not common for the everyday pubic to come into contact with a lot of wood dust.

• Mineral oils: untreated and mildly treated. If you're curious about this one, click here.

• Silica, crystalline (respirable size). Mostly affects workers who handle these products in the workplace. To read more about it though, click here.

• "Solar radiation." This also means tanning beds-- oh wait! That's on the list too: "Sunlamps or Sunbeds" Tanning beds are definitely not safer than the sun, they give off dangerous amounts of UV radiation. (more info HERE)

• Tobacco Smoke, environmental (second hand). It is well known that smoking tobacco causes lung cancer, but high exposure to second hand smoke can also cause cancer.

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2. REASONABLY ANTICIPATED/ PROBABLE CARCINOGENS:

• Sodium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrite. These are preservatives and add color and flavor to processed meats.

• Glyphosate. This is an herbicide. Considered to be probably carcinogenic by both the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

• Glycidol. This has now been added to e-cigarettes and it is considered by the National Toxicology program as reasonably anticipated to be a carcinogen.

• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a man-made chemical found in Teflon and other chemicals used to make some cookware, has been found in communities' drinking water, some food, ski wax, clothing and carpeting that has been treated to be stain resistant, etc.

• Hairdresser or Barber (workplace exposure). This is one that you often hear people express concern about, without reading into the facts. The IARC and NTP have noted that because of certain carcinogenic chemicals in hair dye products, professionals in these fields are exposed in high enough volumes to increase their risks of cancer. Scientists and doctors can now link the high number of people in this profession getting certain cancers to the chemicals found in many hair dyes. The (kind of) good news is that as of right now this strong link has only been shown with people who work consistently with these products. So if you have dyed your hair before, don't panic. However, if you are concerned about it, this is just one more carcinogen that is completely avoidable by simple not doing it.

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So why does all this matter? If you have read through some of the listed carcinogens and what they can be found in, you might be asking yourself if it really matters-- after all, it takes large amounts of these things to actually cause cancer!

While it is true that many of these carcinogens will not cause cancer in tiny doses-- if you drink coffee your whole life you will probably not get cancer from the small amounts of acrylamide. But, if you drink multiple cups of coffee a day for years, clean your home with harsh chemicals, cook with pans made of Teflon or PFOA or other nonstick chemicals, store your food in plastic container which you heat up in the microwave, live in the city with lots of smog and Diesel exhaust, get your hair dyed every few months, wash your hair or skin with harsh chemicals such as Selenium Sulfide, ingest a lifetime of foods that have been processed and treated with pesticides and herbicides, perhaps you have a family history of cancer, etc...THEN YOU ARE NO LONGER EXPOSED TO JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF CARCINOGENS.

You will hear people dismiss carcinogens that are found in commonly used products by saying that they are in such small amounts, they don't pose a real threat to your health. However, when evaluating your risk for cancer, you need to look at your whole lifestyle and exposure to each known carcinogen.

Continuous exposure to many (small as they may be) doses of carcinogens do accumulate and become hazardous to your health.

THE 70/30:

In college, many of my professors have lectured on what some health professionals call the "70/30 ratio." Scientific and medical studies show that your chance of getting a chronic illness is determined by approximately 70% lifestyle and 30% predisposition/genetics.

BUT here is the kicker: Scientists and doctors have discovered that lifestyle actually has control over your predisposition, to the point of being able to reduce that 30% to zero.

It's like this: If you know you have a family history of diabetes, so you make sure that you eat healthy, exercise the recommend amount, visit your doctor regularly for checkups and listen to what they tell you to do, you will be able to overcome and cancel out the predisposition you had for diabetes; That 30% genetic predisposition for diabetes will drastically decrease just by changing your lifestyle! Perhaps one of the most exciting scientific discoveries in this century is that lifestyle can essentially change/control genetic predisposition. This may sound too good to be true, but it’s not easy. People will always struggle to make the right choice for their health-- sometimes we just want that cheat day, or we need to rest, and some people aren't even aware of what a truly healthy lifestyle looks like!

Perhaps one of the most exciting scientific discoveries in this century is that lifestyle can essentially change/control genetic predisposition.

FINAL NOTE: If you feel the need to start switching some products for healthier ones, but you just cannot bear to go without something (maybe coffee) consider just making a few changes that seem reasonable to maintain. The best way to change your lifestyle is one step at a time.

National Toxicology Program Website 14th report on carcinogens more information