3 Health Risks You Can Stop Worrying About

As we age it’s important for us to maintain a close watch on our health and limit our risky behaviors. While this is easy to say, it can often be difficult to do, especially when news reports often over-inflate the risks of some activities. Here are three widely reported health scares that you can ignore because they pose little risk.

Your cell phone won’t give you brain cancer

Though many people continue to believe that cell phones pose a serious risk of causing brain cancer, the research supporting this claim simply isn’t strong. There was one study that did show an increased risk associated between cell phones and brain cancer, but that was only in mice and 17 subsequent studies were unable to replicate the effects. Also, brain cancer rates have not significantly increased since the widespread adoption of cellular phone technology.

Your salami won’t give you cancer

While regularly eating processed foods such as salami, baloney and other meats which have high salt content is generally not a good idea, there is little support to show that eating these foods can lead to a rise in cancer. This misconception started after reports that the nitrites found in some processed meats are able to cause cancer. However, the study which found this result was later revealed to be deeply flawed and its results unreliable.

You can keep drinking from plastic bottles

The studies showing that drinking from water bottles made with BPA could lead to reproductive or developmental abnormalities were all done with rats. Rats are not good analogues for humans, and to date there have been no adverse effects observed in humans who drink from plastic bottles.