Studies show that cooking causes lung cancer

Monday, February 17, 2014 by: Sue Woledge
Tags: lung cancer, non-smokers, stir-fry

(NaturalNews) It is common knowledge today that smoking causes lung cancer, however there are many cases of lung cancer diagnosed in people who have never smoked in their lives. So if they've never smoked, what caused their lung cancer we might ask. Studies indicate that it could be as simple as the way they cook their food.

The undeniable link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer was demonstrated many years ago, and the dangers of smoking have been drummed into public consciousness for decades. However while lung cancer is common among smokers it is also regularly diagnosed in those with no history of smoking, which has led to extensive studies of lung cancer patients in an attempt to try to uncover other factors that may increase lung cancer risk.

Statistics show that lung cancer rates in non-smokers worldwide are much higher in women than in men and Chinese women have extremely high lung cancer rates even though the numbers that smoke are relatively low when compared to Western women. Because of this, several studies have been completed in China over recent years in an attempt to identify potential causes of lung cancer in non-smokers.

Fumes from stir frying food causes lung cancer

What researchers have uncovered is that the way the Chinese cook their food is a probable cause of the disease. To be more specific the stir frying of food, and the fumes released from that food while cooking, seems to be the reason for the high lung cancer rates in Chinese women. The evidence indicates that the fumes inhaled while stir frying food may cause lung cancer in non-smokers and create an even higher risk of lung cancer in smokers.

Stir frying food is traditional in Asian countries and considered by many to be one of the healthier ways to cook food as it subjects the food to high heat for a only a short time. It leaves vegetables firmer and less 'cooked' than many other methods, but while stir fried dishes may be healthier for those who eat them, the evidence is pointing to an increased risk of lung cancer for those who cook them.

One study focused on the fumes released from stir frying meat while others have focused on fumes from oils used to cook food. While these studies indicate that the cooking of stir fried food is a very real risk with regard to lung cancer, they have reached no specific conclusions as to which foods pose a risk to those cooking them. However there is some evidence that the fumes released by Rapeseed oil in particular may be of concern.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11804682

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/9/11/1215.full

http://www.greenhealthwatch.com

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu

http://www.nytimes.com

About the author:
Sue Woledge is a natural therapist, writer and the owner of www.ahealthymeal.com and here.