The conclusions reached by a Spanish study are truly disturbing. The assumption is the increase of diagnoses of prostate cancer registered in recent years. And according to research, one factor could be the tap water we drink, as it is rich in nitrate. If ingested in adulthood, nitrate could in fact prove to be decisive.
This is what the assumes Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)center promoted by La Caixa Foundation. The results of the study were then made public with the publication in Environmental Health Perspectives.
The aim of the research was to evaluate whether there was a relationship between the intake of nitrates and trihalomethanes (THM) through drinking water and prostate cancer. Nitrate is present in water and comes from fertilizers and excrement from intensive agriculture and livestock, therefore rain carries it into groundwater and rivers.
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Cristina Vialneuvaresearcher, explains a IsGlobal: “Nitrate is a compound that is part of nature, but we have altered its natural cycle”. So now it is being studied how prolonged exposure to nitrates can determine cancer in adulthood in humans.
THMs, on the other hand, are by-products of water disinfection, i.e. chemical compounds that are formed after disinfecting water for consumption, primarily with color. THMs can also be inhaled and absorbed through the skin, for example when taking a shower.
Ultimately, the study highlighted how the participants with the highest nitrate intake through water – more than 14 milligrams per day on average for a lifetime – increase the risk of contracting prostate cancer by 1.6 times.
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