Natural Occurring Carcinogens In Food

While most people are stuffing their faces with breakfast, lunch, or dinner, they probably aren’t thinking about carcinogens or any other cancer causing agents in the foods that they are eating.  I mean, I know that I don’t! 

 So, when you hear about natural occurring carcinogens in food, especially foods that you like, it is a little unsettling.  If you haven’t heard about this, then here are some things that you need to know.

If you are a big iced tea fan, you might be setting yourself up for cancer and not even know it.  Tannins are found in tea of all sorts and have been shown in studies to cause liver cancer and esophageal cancer in both lab animals and humans.  Teas in moderation are fine, but the more tea that you drink, the higher your risk is.

If you live in a tropical region, then you probably have heard of cycad plants, and probably have eaten some as well.  But, these cycads are not good for you at all, and need to also be taken in, in moderation.  These plants have been shown to cause liver and kidney cancer in lab animals.  Although no studies have been done on humans yet, it is very evident what they will find.

Yet another culprit is safrole, which has been shown to cause liver cancer.  The problems with safrole is that it is also found in many of the foods that we eat and drink today, like tea, cocoa, and several herbs and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

So before you pick up that next glass of tea, you might be sure to read the label or box and make your own decision based on the facts about which way is better for you, organic foods or non organic foods.