Be clearer about carcinogens, cancer-causing compounds. Hello Sehat
During this time you may have heard the term carcinogen. Often times people say that certain foods contain carcinogens, so you should limit your consumption because it can cause cancer. However, do you know what a carcinogen actually is?
Carcinogens are not only contained in food, but it turns out that many things around us contain carcinogens. For more details, consider the following explanation.
What are carcinogens?
Carcinogens are things that can cause cancer, it can be in the form of chemicals, viruses, or even drugs and radiation that are used to treat cancer itself. In essence, the things that directly cause cancer are called carcinogens. In general, cancer is caused by carcinogens or a combination of carcinogens themselves.
Carcinogens can work in many ways, namely directly damaging the DNA in cells causing abnormalities in normal cells, and another way, namely by causing cell damage which causes cells to divide faster, which in turn can lead to the development of cancer.
What are some examples of carcinogens?
Carcinogens have been classified into 3 groups by The International Agency for Research on Cancer. The classification consists of the agent and agent group, mixture, and environmental exposure.
Agents and agent groups
The example is:
- Aflatoxins, naturally produced by certain fungi
- Arsenic compounds
- Asbestos
- Benzene
- Benzidine
- Nickel compound
- Solar radiation
- Powder containing asbestiform fibers
- Vinyl chloride, and others.
Mix
The example is:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Analgesic mixture containing phenacetin
- Tobacco products
- Tobacco smoke
- Wood powder, and others.
Environmental exposure
Examples such as:
- Aluminum production
- Shoe manufacture or repair and boot
- Coal processing with coal gasification
- Production coke
- Making furniture
- Formation of iron and steel
- Rubber industry
- Exposure to sulfuric acid in the work environment, etc.
In essence, these carcinogens can be found in chemicals in the environment around you, environmental radiation (such as from sunlight), radiation from medical equipment, viruses, drugs, and lifestyle factors.
These carcinogens can not definitely cause cancer in everyone exposed to them. The ability of carcinogens to cause cancer varies between individuals, depending on the amount of exposure, the length of exposure, the health of the individual exposed, and other factors. The susceptibility of each person exposed to carcinogens to cause cancer also depends on heredity. Heredity plays an important role in causing cancer. In many cases, the incidence of cancer is due to many factors working together.
Carcinogens in food
Be careful, certain foods that you normally eat may also contain carcinogens. Recently there has been research showing that processed meats contain carcinogens, which means they can cause cancer, especially colorectal cancer and stomach cancer.
Processed meat is meat that has gone through a process of salting, preserving, fermentation, smoking, or other processes aimed at improving taste and storage capacity. Examples of processed meat are bacon, ham, sausage, salami, corned beef, and so on.
This is because processed meat contains the following ingredients:
- Meat processing, such as pickling (which adds nitrates or nitrites to meat) or smoking, can trigger the formation of carcinogens, such as N-nitroso-compound (NOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH).
- This is exacerbated by the heme iron content in meat, which can support the production of NOC in meat.
- Cooking meat at high temperatures, such as frying or grilling, can also trigger the production of carcinogens, such as heterocyclic amines (HCA) and PAH. HCA is formed when the creatine and amino acids in meat react to the heat generated from the cooking process. HCA is one of the agents that can cause cancer.
Therefore, you should choose red meat that is still fresh and cooked by yourself compared to processed meat that is cooked in a factory. You can also process the red meat by boiling or steaming instead of frying or grilling which produces higher heat. This method can make the meat you eat healthier.
In addition, balance your diet by eating vegetables and fruits. Vegetables and fruit can reduce the level of DNA damage and oxidation of carcinogens, thereby reducing your risk of developing cancer.
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