Nowadays, it is believed by many Americans that anything can cause cancer. Fairly recently, within the last few years, it was discovered that eating our favorite movie snack, microwaved popcorn, was not healthy, unless in moderation. Research suggest microwaved popcorn isn’t safe to be eaten often because the packaging around the popcorn and added flavors such as chipotle, cheddar and pizza contain chemicals that can increase the risk of cancer and disease.
The nonstick plastic material that surrounds the popcorn contains a chemical that brakes down as the popcorn pops in the microwave. When the chemical is broken down, it creates a compound called perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA. This chemical has been associated with increased risk of liver and prostate cancer as well as liver disease. Dr. Frank Gilliland reported in a 1993 article “Journal of Occupational Medicine” that “factory workers exposed to the chemical had increased cancer mortality.” University of California has done a recent study that links PFOA to infertility in women as well. The study further explains exposure to this chemical significantly increases the risk of kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas and testicular cancers.
For instance, popcorn factory workers are exposed to much larger quantities of PFOA and diacetyl fumes for long periods of time. This amount of exposure leads to something called “popcorn lung.” Most likely, you are not exposed to this much of PFOA or dangerous fumes, but if you eat it every day for years like Wayne Watson you could develop “popcorn lung” like the factory workers.
”In 2003 and 2004, federal health officials looked into the cases of hundreds of sick workers at popcorn manufacturing plants.” All of the workers had popcorn lung and died.
The idea I am trying to get at is as consumers we are at risk, but not as dramatically as the factory workers. Still, if you are going to eat microwaved popcorn, at least wait until the bag has cooled down. DO NOT inhale the fumes no matter how good it smells and be aware that there are chemicals, not including the genetically modified ingredients, that can be harmful to your health.
http://naturalon.com/10-of-the-most-cancer-causing-foods/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/424792-the-cancer-risk-of-microwave-popcorn/
http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/respiratory/popcorn-lung.htm
I found this article very interesting. Popcorn is my go to late night snack because I convince myself that it is healthier then others ones I could choose, but maybe I am wrong. You mention that “Research suggest microwaved popcorn isn’t safe to be eaten often because the packaging around the popcorn and added flavors such as chipotle, cheddar and pizza contain chemicals that can increase the risk of cancer and disease.” I am wondering exactly how much popcorn would have to be consumed to increase the risk. After eating just one bag am I at risk? Were you able to find any cases that someone actually got cancer from eating microwaved popcorn? After researching the topic, I found the microwaved popcorn not only can lead to cancer, but Alzheimer’s and lung disease! Check out these two articles on the issues, here is the one about Alzheimer’s and here is the one about lung disease.
It is funny I just posted about microwaving food on plastic is dangerous or not, even though I agree with the post, I would like a further investigation on the waves the microwaves send to our food. It could be that the reason because all the chemicals are leaking to the food is because of the temperatures reached inside the microwave, or the frequency of the waves that our food is expose when is wicrowaved.
After reading your post it seems like is should be dead already. I used to eat microwaved popcorn daily because it was my go to snack and its healthy dietary wise. I never waited until it cooled off because wanted it to be fresh and ready to eat. I never knew by doing this I could be putting my heath at risk. I am still going to eat popcorn but not as often.
I recently did a post on microwaves, and I can completely agree with this post. The radiation that a microwave produces is very harmful to the body. Also because of the type of container or plastic that a lot of our foods are packaged in, this can become very dangerous when put into the microwave. My mom never liked popping popcorn in the microwave so she sticks to doing it on the stove top. Good post!.