Reverse osmosis filters as protection against the cause of the most common cancer disease in men
Reverse osmosis filters as protection against the cause of the most common cancer disease in men.
Scientists have identified two chemical substances in tap and bottled water as a possible cause for the most common cancer disease in men: prostate cancer. Media outlets such as Focus online, taz, and many others in the country reported on this result, sometimes with inappropriately alarming headlines. – After all, these important findings finally open the way for effective protective measures!
The evidence comes from a study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, which was published in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives," which means that this work received the official blessing of science.
The researchers found that tap and bottled water cause the problem due to high contamination by nitrate and trihalomethanes (THM). Nitrate enters groundwater through nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture, THM is a byproduct of drinking water disinfection through chlorine. Both are among the most common water contaminants. Nitrate levels in water are increasing worldwide due to intensive agriculture.
According to the study, anyone who ingests an average of more than 14 milligrams of nitrate per day over water in their lifetime has a 1.6 times higher probability of developing prostate cancer. In Germany, 50 mg of nitrate per liter is still permitted, even though several studies and experts have already pointed out the health risks associated with this high value. This includes the head of the current study, Carolina Donat-Vargas, who warns in a press release about the excessively high permitted nitrate value:
"The risks associated with nitrate intake through water are already observed in people who consume water with nitrate levels below the maximum value permitted by European guidelines, which is 50 mg of nitrate per liter of water."
The German Environment Agency even reports on its website: „In Germany, approximately 17 percent of the measuring stations of the representative EUA groundwater monitoring network (monitoring network for reporting to the European Environment Agency) show nitrate levels above the threshold value of 50 mg per liter."
Additionally interesting in the study results was that the link between nitrate intake and prostate cancer could only be demonstrated in subjects who lacked fiber, fruits, vegetables, and vitamin C in their diet. Donat-Vargas's explanation for this: "Antioxidants, vitamins, and polyphenols in fruits and vegetables can inhibit the formation of nitrosamines – compounds with cancer-causing potential – in the stomach." Vitamin C has shown significant antitumor activity, and fiber helps gut bacteria protect the body from toxins.
At this point, a note from the truu editorial team: In every German pharmacy, you are told that your daily requirement of vitamin C is covered with "a knife tip" (approximately 220 mg). The German Food Association recommends 110 mg/day for an adult man. The famous chemist Linus Pauling (the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in two different categories, which he did not have to share with anyone) took 15 – 18,000 mg of vitamin C per day, which is 60 to 70 times the amount. He reached the age of 93 while maintaining his full mental capacity. Almost curiously: He died of prostate cancer, but lived 35 years longer than his colleagues. Furthermore, it is known that risk factors such as age and family predisposition also play a role in cancer.
Read here: Already elevated cancer risk at 3.87 mg nitrate per liter of drinking water.
Researchers warn of increased cancer risk from tap waterProstate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men. Even though risk factors such as age and family predisposition play a role, the exact causes remain unknown to date. A new study shows how tap water increases the risk