“Doctor help me, I’m about to get liver cancer.” An uncle in his early 50s walked into the doctor’s consultation room sweating profusely, looking very anxious.
It is understood that this uncle, surnamed Liu, accidentally ate a moldy peanut this morning. It is said on the Internet that moldy peanuts contain aflatoxin, which can lead to liver cancer, so he is very anxious.
The doctor didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he heard Uncle Liu’s words. Aflatoxin is a first-class carcinogen, and it is indeed easy to hide in moldy peanuts, but it is a bit exaggerated that only one peanut can cause liver cancer.
1. If you accidentally eat moldy peanuts, will you get liver cancer?
Aflatoxin is a first-class carcinogen, mainly found in moldy food, especially in moldy peanuts, because peanuts The content of starch, protein and fat is very high, and it is prone to mildew during storage to produce aflatoxin.
Ingestion of 1 mg of aflatoxin may cause cancer, and 20 mg at one time may be fatal. So, is it dangerous to accidentally eat a moldy peanut or two? In fact, it is unscientific to talk about the harm without the dose. Academician Chen Xiaoping of Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology believes that eating a moldy peanut occasionally will not induce liver cancer.
If you accidentally ingest a small amount of aflatoxin and there is no obvious poisoning symptoms, you can drink more water, induce vomiting, and drink milk to help expel it from the body , If the poisoning is obvious, seek medical attention in time.
Second, aflatoxin is a catalyst for liver cancer, so eat less of these foods
< p>Aflatoxin is very harmful to the human body, and is even known as a catalyst for liver cancer. The following types of food are likely to contain aflatoxin, so you need to pay attention to eating less.
1. Bitter nuts
Because the bitterness of nuts comes from aflatoxin produced during the mildew process, if you eat Bitter nuts, possibly moldy, spit out and gargle.
2. Moldy corn
Foods with high starch content are prone to produce aflatoxin under humid and high temperature conditions, such as corn. Food, if the corn is found to be moldy, it should be discarded and not eaten.
3. Inferior sesame oil, self-pressed oil
In order to reduce costs, some unscrupulous merchants will use spoiled peanuts, corn, and sesame to extract oil for sale , may introduce aflatoxin. Some small workshops or household oil presses do not have the function of removing harmful substances and cannot process and refine raw materials, which are easily contaminated by aflatoxin.
4. Long-soaked fungus
The purchased dried fungus needs to be soaked in water before eating, but it needs to be eaten as soon as possible after soaking. For too long, such as more than 24 hours, it is easy to be contaminated by viruses and bacteria in the air, thereby producing aflatoxin.
5. Moldy tea leaves
In environments with high temperature, high humidity or poor ventilation, tea leaves are also easily contaminated by Aspergillus flavus. Aflatoxin is produced, and if you find that the tea has a musty and bitter taste, you can no longer drink it.
3. How to deal with moldy food?
If you find moldy food in your life, you can deal with it in two ways. Don’t continue to eat it because you are reluctant to eat it.
1. Throw away
Moldy food should be thrown away in time, because the contamination distribution of aflatoxin in food may be uneven, and the Check carefully beforehand, and throw away moldy, discolored, and hairy food in time. Do not wash with water or remove the moldy part just because you are reluctant, we cannot see all the aflatoxin with the naked eye.
2. Don’t feed poultry
Many elderly people are accustomed to being frugal. This statement is false. It is not recommended to feed poultry with spoiled and moldy food, because it will lead to the accumulation of aflatoxin in poultry. When humans ingest poultry containing aflatoxin, these toxins are easy to accumulate in poultry. remains in the human body.
4. How to preserve food and prevent aflatoxin?
If you want to reduce the intake of aflatoxin, you should pay attention to the preservation of food and prevent it from becoming moldy. When preserving food, you may try the following methods:< /p>
1. Try to eat fresh food and reduce hoarding
If you want to avoid aflatoxin as much as possible, the most effective way is to cut the source , it is recommended to try not to hoard food at ordinary times, and choose to eat fresh food, which can effectively prevent the food from mildew and produce aflatoxin.
2. Pay attention to food quality and packaging when purchasing
When purchasing food, pay attention to the packaging of the food, check whether the packaging is clean , complete, if you find that it has been damaged, don’t buy it, also pay attention to the expiration date, don’t buy expired food, if you buy nuts, it’s best to choose small packages.
3. Pay attention to storage
Aflatoxin is easily produced in a humid and high temperature environment, so it is best to store the food after buying it In a ventilated, cool, dry environment, the best temperature is within 20 degrees Celsius, the relative humidity is below 80%, and direct sunlight should be avoided.
Aflatoxin is a substance that is harmful to human health, and it is easily produced in moldy food, so we usually pay attention to healthy diet , minimize the intake of aflatoxin. Don’t worry too much if you eat a little moldy food occasionally. If there are no obvious adverse reactions, it is generally not a problem.
References:
[1] “The Knowledge Points About Aflatoxin Are Here”. China Youth Daily. 2020-10-22
[2] “Can eating moldy peanuts cause cancer? Academician Chen Xiaoping of Wuhan Tongji Hospital tells you about liver cancer”. Physician News. 2021-03-26
[3] “Eating 1 mg is a carcinogenic dose! High temperature can’t kill it, these foods have it”. Health Times. 2019-07-02