Toxins and potential carcinogens are ubiquitous and the foods we eat, not as food additives, but as naturally occurring compounds. Even the much-feared cyanide compounds are everywhere. However, they are present in such small amounts we can metabolize them or prevent them from being converted to cyanide (by cooking or by exposure to stomach acid). The fact is that to eliminate the naturally occurring compounds that have the potential to be toxic or be carcinogenic is quite impossible and unreasonable. Here is a partial list of foods to avoid if you want to avoid many of the chemicals commonly reported as unhealthy.
Apples Contain:
- Acetaldehyde: a mutagen and potent carcinogen
- Benzaldehyde: rodent carcinogen
- caffeic acid: roden carcinogen
- Estragole: roden carcinogen
- quercetin glycosides: mutagen and rodent carcinogen
Breads and rolls may contain:
- Acetaldehyde: mutagen and potent carcinogen
- Acrylamide: rodent and human neurotoxin and rodent carcinogen
- Benzo(A)pyrene: mutagen and rodent carcinogen
- ethyl alcohol: rodent and human carcinogen
- ethyl carbamate: mutagen and rodent carcinogen
- furan and furan derivatives: may be mutagens
- furfural: (a furan derivative) rodent carcinogen
Brocolli Contains:
- allyl isothiocyanate: animal carcinogen
- glucosinolates: antithyroid idodine inhibitor, goiter (thyroid enlargement)
- goitrin: also antithyroid
- nitrate: animal carcinogen, human toxin
Carrots Contain:
- aniline: rodent carcinogen
- caffeic acid: rodent carcinogen
Celery Contains:
- caffeic acid: rodent carcinogen
- furan and furan derivatives: may be mutagens
- psoralens: mutagens, rodent and human carcinogens
Cinnamon Contains:
- coumarin: rodent carcinogen
- methyl eugenol: rodent carcinogen
Coffee Contains:
- Acetaldehyde: mutagen and potent carcinogen
- Benzaldehyde: rodent carcinogen
- Benzene: rodent carcinogen
- Benzo(A)pyren: mutagen and rodent carcinogen
- benzofuran: rodent carcinogen
- catechol: rodent carcinogen
- 1,2,5,6-Dibenz(A)antracene: rodent carcinogen
- ethyl benzene: rodent carcinogen
- furan and furan derivatives: may be mutagens
- furfural: (furan derivative) rodent carcinogen
- hydrogen peroxide: mutagen and rodent carcinogen
- hydroquinone: rodent carcinogen
- 4-Methylcatechol: rodent carcinogen
Nuts Contain:
- aflatoxin (possible): mutagen, potent rodent carcinogen, human carcinogen
- furfural (furan devivative): rodent carcinogen
Tomatoes Contain:
- acetaldehyde: mutagen and potent carcinogen
- benzaldehyde: rodent carcinogen
- caffeic acid (cherry tomatoes): rodent carcinogen
- hydrogen peroxide: mutagen and rodent carcinogen
- quercetin glycosides: mutagens and rodent carcinogens
Again, this is only a partial list. You are ingesting hundreds, if not thousands of toxic chemicals each and every day, and all of these chemicals are naturally present in the foods you eat. Food additives are added in tiny amounts. What’s more, these additives often have much more safety research and the amounts allowed are a tiny fraction of a fraction of the amount you’d have to consume to pose any real danger.
While most of the chemicals in this list could be harmful in very large amounts, it is even possible that some of them are beneficial in small (enough) amounts. For example, quercetin is marketed as a dietary supplement as quercetin glycosides. It is a flavonoid that has the potential for various health-promoting effects, including in the field of anti-aging. It is present in many of the vegetables and fruits we eat, including apples and tomatoes, above.
As you can see, coffee is a smorgasbord of potential toxins and mutagens. Yet, moderate coffee consumption is now believed to be more beneficial than harmful. Good nutrition and the promotion of health is not about eliminating every single substance that has the potential to harm us. It is a balancing act, as nothing comes without both beneficial and potentially harmful chemicals and some of these overlap.