Smoking, junk food, obesity: Most people are familiar with these risk factors for cancer. But there are also sources of danger that you would never think of. We say what they are.
It can be the cream you smear on your face every morning. Or the beloved hamburger. Or a driving habit. Behind some completely normal things there lurks a danger that hardly anyone knows: they increase the risk of developing cancer.
You should therefore leave the following things alone:
Anyone who flies often and sits by the window risks skin damage.
Window panes do block most of the UVB rays that cause sunburn. However, they let through 47 percent of UVA rays.
UVA rays are responsible for skin aging and a risk for skin cancer. Because: UV radiation can damage our genetic material. If damaged cells do not die, skin cancer can develop.
So: Only sit in the window seat on the plane with sunblock. Sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 50 or more is considered a sunblock.
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Many people love their soup or tea steaming hot. However, anyone who swallows liquids over 65 degrees Celsius endangers their esophagus. Because the high temperature irritates the tissue. In the long run, the heat also damages the cells. This can lead to cancer.
So: Wait and let it cool down before enjoying a freshly brewed drink.
Diesel exhaust is a real risk for lung and bladder cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) investigated this a few years ago. The exhaust fumes are particularly dangerous for professional drivers or road construction workers.
But the exhaust fumes are also dangerous for people who commute every day. The air contains many pollutants, especially when cars often stop and start again. The drivers then inhale this.
So: Leave the window open if the queue of cars is only moving slowly.
Anyone who sleeps with different partners without a condom can become infected with the human papilloma virus (HPV). This virus can cause cancer.
The most common type of cancer caused by HPV is cervical cancer. It usually develops many years after contracting the virus.
Certain HPV viruses can also cause cancer in the vagina, labia, anus and penis.
So: Vaccination of girls and boys before the first sexual intercourse can prevent the infection. Otherwise, condoms protect against HPV infection.
Oils nourish the skin. But it shouldn’t be mineral oils. However, these are found in many cosmetic products. For example in skin cream or lipstick. You can recognize this by the ingredients paraffin, petrolatum or mineral oil.
Certain substances in mineral oil are dangerous to health: the aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). They can change the genome and cause cancer. They are filtered out of cosmetics. But a good rest stays in it. Stiftung Warentest established this in 2015.
So: You are safe with natural cosmetics. There must be no mineral oil in it.
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Drinking alcohol increases your risk of cancer. Alcohol is particularly dangerous for the liver, mouth and throat, and chest. The more you drink, the higher the risk of cancer.
There is also no “safe” lower limit, especially for breast and liver cancer. This means that even a little alcohol is dangerous for cancer. This is probably due to substances that are produced when alcohol is broken down in the body.
So if you don’t want to do without your pilsner or glass of wine, you should at least only drink the permitted amounts: half a liter of beer or a quarter of wine per day for men, half of that for women.
If the body does not produce enough of the sleep hormone melatonin, the risk of cancer increases. Studies have shown that.
When light breaks through the night darkness, the body cannot release enough melatonin.
Nowadays, smartphones or tablets often spread light in the dark bedroom. They keep us from sleeping or wake us up with messages to which we react immediately.
The sleep cycle is constantly interrupted and there are ongoing sleep disorders – a risk factor for cancer.
So: The smartphone is not next to the bed and stays off at night.
If you don’t go to the doctor, you won’t get cancer. But doctors can detect early signs of cancer. For example, through a colonoscopy or the smear at the gynecologist.
In the process, conspicuous cells are discovered. The doctor can then often prevent it from developing into cancer.
So, go for cancer screening when it’s time or when you’re invited.
You can now do something about the 8 cancer risks in this article. But there are other major cancer dangers you can avoid: smoking, poor diet and obesity.
About every third malignant cancer tumor should not be. This was determined by the German Center for Cancer Research (DKFZ). The scientists have calculated that there could be almost 165,000 fewer cancer cases per year. For this, people would have to live healthier:
19 percent of all cancer cases in Germany can be traced back to smoking. Unhealthy eating is responsible for almost eight percent and obesity for seven percent of cancer cases. Close behind is lack of exercise.
