Doesn't EVERYTHING cause cancer?!
Yes.
It does.
Even Air.
*deep sigh* *oops!*
Breathers [[greet and welcome]] Yes.
Air.
I know.
Yes.
It sounds stupid, but according to a new study from PeerJ people who live at elevations closer
to sea level have more tumors than people who live where the air is thinner!
EVEN OXYGEN GIVES YOU CANCER?
We need oxygen to breathe, but, in breathing air with more oxygen in it -- we may be triggering
lung cancer formation.
Imperial County, California is 11 meters below sea level (36ft) and San Juan County, Colorado
is 3473 meters above sea level (2.16m) -- which means the amount of oxygen can vary as much
as 35 percent depending on where you live!
The two researchers behind the study compared the rates of numerous cancers across the United
States in counties from purple mountains majesty to the amber waves of grain, and found a 13
percent increase in lung cancers for every 1,000 meters decrease in elevation!!
That same increase was NOT seen in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers.
Before you freak out and try and hold your breath for the rest of your life, this DOESN'T
mean that oxygen CAUSES cancer; just that higher levels of elevation correlate with
lower levels of cancer.
In fact, there are a number of other benefits from living at higher elevations, including
decreased rates of heart disease, better vitamin D synthesis, and more weight loss to name
a few.
More research is obviously needed, but it is possible that oxygen is both necessary
for Earth life and slowly killing us.
When we breathe in the oxygen, our cells use it to harvest energy from food, but part of
the byproduct are oxygen free radicals; called Reactive Oxygen Species.
Sure they’re natural, but they're also toxic -- and according to research in the Annual
Review of Genetics, our own ancient mitochondrial systems might be causing degenerative disease
and cancer!
Which brings me back to the earlier point, does EVERYTHING cause cancer?
Breathing causes it, making energy from food causes it, what about food?
My mom would always try to cook her pork chops with the little black crusty bits on the edges,
because it was DELECTABLE, but she stopped when she found out the charred bit causes
cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, some starchy foods cooked at a high-temperature
will produce acrylamide, a chemical found in paper, wastewater, adhesives and cigarettes.
Frying bacon, or grilling and smoking meats can expose food to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
a chemical known to cause skin, liver, and stomach cancer in lab animals.
Fried foods have their own problems.
In the end, no serious science recommends forgoing cooked food, but moderating the amount
of grilled and blackened food is going to decrease your cancer risk.
AIR.
FOOD.
AND YOUR OWN BODY MAKING THOSE TWO THINGS INTO ENERGY ALL CAUSE CANCER.
So, relax, exercise and pay attention to what you're eating, but don't give yourself an
ulcer over it.
We've obviously got enough problems, amirite?