Here is Why That Plastic is Injecting Cancer in Your Body

Cancer has been a subject of discussion in Kenya for years with stakeholders in the health sector fumbling to find a lasting solution with none seeming to be working out yet.

The discussion about cancer became a concern during the month of July after the country lost three prominent persons to cancer. For once, the reality of the matter hit the mighty hard and some half-woke up from slumberland.

Those who died during the month of July due to cancer were; Bob Collymore, the then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Safaricom, Ken Okoth, Member of Parliament for Kibra Constituency and Joyce Laboso, Governor for Bomet County.

What the nation seemed aloof about is that, during the same month, more than 2,500 Kenyans had lost their lives as a result of cancer. Stats from the Ministry of Health shows that at least 80 Kenyans are dying daily because of cancer.

Cancer is not a disease of the “rich” as many used to believe. It is a menace that is sweeping across the country, killing both the rich and the poor and is becoming more vicious than any other disease.

Did you know that that plastic in your house, at the workplace or anywhere you are might be injecting cancer-causing agents into your body?

It is difficult to avoid coming into contact with plastics in our lives. Our water is in plastic bottles, the majority of our food is packed in plastic bags, and everything consumable we want to store is via a plastic bag.

Have you ever taken something warm or hot in a plastic bottle/dish/bag? Have you ever stored your food in a plastic dish while it is still hot? Have you ever heat your food in a microwave using a plastic container? If the answer is YES, then you are killing yourself “slowly”. You are injecting your body with cancerous compounds and you will soon add to the statistics of those battling cancer.

When any plastic bottle or container comes in contact with heat, it releases toxic chemicals that then mix with either water or food and harm your body in the process.

Every time you heat your food in a microwave using a plastic container, there are some toxic chemicals that are released into your food. When the food is consumed whether still hot or after it has cooled it combines with your hormones and alter their performance in the process.

Scientists have affirmed that some of the toxic chemicals released when plastic is heated causes cancer in a human body and “should be avoided whenever necessary.”

We cannot avoid plastic in entirety. We are surrounded by plastic. The world is literally running on plastic and efforts to fight it have proved futile even by the superpowers.

Scientists say, in almost every placenta of a woman who ingests warm/hot drink or food in a plastic container, there are between 300 and 400 toxins. This means that currently, every baby is born with some form of toxins in the body from the mother.

As much as we cannot avoid plastic in entirety, small steps in our daily life can help to save us from running into health problems now and in future. According to the FDA, plastic leaches around 55 to 60 different chemicals when heated.

Every time you heat your food in a takeaway container or serve it hot on a plastic plate/container, the process mixes with various chemicals (and oestrogen mimicking hormones) with your food.

Some of the mimicking hormones cause infertility among women. It is difficult for a woman to conceive having ingested the oestrogen mimicking hormones. In men, the oestrogen mimicking hormones cause the lowest sperm count that cannot be rectified.

Eating such foods creates a hormonal imbalance that leads to health issues like PCOD, ovarian issues, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and many other types of cancer.

People usually use plastic containers to store warm leftovers. Leaching can still happen even when the food is warm. Placing it into the refrigerator doesn’t help either, as long as it is still warm, the leaching process can still happen.

It is also advisable to avoid warming your food using a microwave as much as you can but if you must, then your heating should be moderate.

People who use “microwave safe” think that they are safe from cancer-causing pathogens during heating of food. No. Microwave Safe is a scam. It just means a bowl, which also is made up of plastic, cannot melt beyond a melting point but research has shown that it leaches chemicals too.

The best remedy is to avoid plastic at all costs. This is not possible. How can you when we are all surrounded by plastic. The only option is to minimize the contact of plastic with our food while at home or anywhere else.

Lactating mothers should also avoid feeding their babies using plastic bottles. Glass is recommended or an aluminum foiled container.