Source: CCTV News
Why do bananas have radiation?
The essence of radiation is the transmission of energy, which can usually be divided into ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation.
Radiation with high enough energy to ionize atoms is called ionizing radiation, including CT examination, nuclear radiation, etc.; while low-energy radiation that cannot ionize atoms is called non-ionizing radiation, including radio waves, microwaves, etc.
Spectrum and properties of electromagnetic waves (Source: Wikipedia)
The reason why most people "talk about radiation discoloration" is mainly due to the harm of ionizing radiation.
Because the cells that make up our body are ultimately composed of atoms, once they receive high-energy radiation, the electrons in the atoms are attacked, so that the atoms they belong to make the atoms positively charged, then the material structure of the cells will change, thereby damaging the body, inducing cancer, causing infertility, and even causing fetal malformations and death. Therefore, ionizing radiation is very harmful to the human body.
So what kind of radiation does banana radiation belong to? Where does the radiation from bananas come from?
Bananas do have radiation, and they are discolored ionizing radiation. But there is no need to panic at all, because all talk of radiation hazards out of dose is unscientific.
The radiation of bananas is related to the potassium content.
Potassium is widely used in nature in the form of salt and is also one of the important components in human muscle tissue and nerve tissue. If the human body is deficient in potassium, it will lead to a series of problems such as irregular heartbeat and acceleration, abnormal electrocardiogram, and even cardiac arrest.
Potassium is innocent, not only has nothing to do with radiation, but is also very important to the human body.
But potassium has a sibling, potassium-40, which is an isotope of potassium and radioactive, and is one of the main sources of natural nuclear radiation in the human body, which means that potassium-40 causes ionizing radiation.
The radiation of bananas is derived from this radioactive element potassium-40. Because the potassium content in bananas is relatively rich in fruits, the potassium-40 content is relatively higher.
How much radiation does bananas have?
Direct answer: the amount of potassium-40 in bananas is like dust compared to the amount of radiation that can cause cancer.
People usually use the term "banana equivalent dose" to describe the amount of radiation, that is, the equivalent of "how many bananas were eaten" to measure the amount of radiation received.
We usually eat a banana, and the additional dose of ionizing radiation is about 0.0778 microsievert (the unit of calculation of the radioactive dose), which can be seen by the following comparison:
Chest CT scan is the equivalent dose of 70,000 bananas;
The maximum allowable radiation exposure of nuclear power plants to the surrounding environment is the equivalent dose of 2500 bananas per year, and the lethal dose is the equivalent dose of 35 million bananas, which means that 35 million bananas need to be eaten.
And our metabolism will control the potassium content in the body, even if we eat bananas, excess potassium will be excreted from the body, so bananas can be eaten with confidence.
In addition to bananas, there are also rumors on the Internet that the shiny "sugar fried chestnuts" bought on the side of the road are added paraffin wax, and eating more will cause cancer, so that some people are discouraged from sugar fried chestnuts.
Sugar fried chestnuts with paraffin wax to eat more carcinogenic?
Theoretically, if individual unscrupulous traders use paraffin wax and use industrial paraffin wax, it is true that the heavy metals in it will cause damage to health, because industrial paraffin wax contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and can cause cancer.
In fact, it should be thought that paraffin wax will only wrap around the skin of chestnuts and peel them when eaten. And although sugar fried chestnuts are rich in nutrients, carbohydrates that are starch and energy are not low, and eating 3-5 a day is enough. Then the paraffin wax that is eaten is very small, and there is no need to worry too much.
These 5 foods really have to pay attention to
01
Moldy peanuts
Moldy peanuts cannot be eaten, it has Aspergillus aflatogenes, which is carcinogenic. It is most commonly found in peanuts and corn. After the long bud peanut skin is destroyed, it is easy to breed aflatoxin, and aflatoxin is one of the three major cancers recognized in the world and has a strong carcinogenic effect.
02
Sweet potatoes with dark spots
Black spots appear on sweet potatoes, which are caused by contamination by black spot bacteria, and the toxins discharged will not be destroyed even if they are boiled and roasted, and their biological activity will not be destroyed, so sweet potatoes cannot be eaten.
On the dark spots of sweet potatoes with black spot disease, sweet potatoone and sweet potato alcohol were found, which can cause liver and lung poisoning, liver poisoning can cause liver failure, and lung poisoning will produce bubbles, which can cause respiratory stagnation and death.
1 cm away from the spot, no sweet potatoone and sweet potato alcohol were detected, so if you don't want to waste food, you can dig up the spot and the surrounding tissue after the spot is found.
Note: Sweet potatoes with black spot disease will smell bitter, and a light squeeze will see obvious black sweet potato flesh, which can be distinguished from the black color of the skin.
03
Sprouted, green potatoes
Potatoes (potatoes) produce a toxin called dragon sunflower after germination, if people eat sprouted potatoes, they will have dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms of poisoning, and severe death. When eating, be sure to thoroughly dig out the germination part, and cut off more part.
The part of the potato that changes color and is green should also be dug up, and the remaining potatoes should be eaten as soon as possible, if most of the greening occurs, the content of dragon anthraxin in the potato will surge, so don't eat it again.
04
Sprouted tomatoes
Sprouted tomato buds contain the toxic substance Tachyramine and are not suitable for consumption. Ingesting a small amount of longanin can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea; if you eat too much, you will have symptoms such as increased body temperature, repeated vomiting, difficulty breathing, and decreased blood pressure, and a very small number of people will die due to respiratory paralysis.
Note: Green tomatoes cannot be eaten raw, containing dragon flower alkali, which can cause nausea and vomiting in people, and even cause death.
05
Rotten ginger
When ginger rots, it produces a very toxic substance (safrole), which can cause cancerous cells. Try not to eat rotten ginger, and cut off rotten parts.