On the Internet, you can often find a statement that bananas contain radioactive elements. We decided to check if this corresponds to reality and whether it is necessary to fear.
That bananas are the most radioactive fruits, They told Many media (for example Lenta.ru, Life, "Ren-TV","Reginum") And Information Portals. You can meet information on the exceptional radioactivity of these fruits and on resourcesdedicated to nutrition and cooking. Also, users of social networks write about this ("VKontakte" Telegram, X) And Platform blog.
Banans are rich in potassium: Middle Fruit Contains About 422 mg of this substance. Daily norm The use of a macro element for an adult is 2600 mg for women and 3400 mg for men. Potassium It is necessary For the normal life of the body, its use helps to keep blood pressure normerial and, as a result, reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, it was thanks to Kaliya that the bananas received the glory of the product from which you can get not only healthy vitamins and macro elements, but also a certain dose of radiation.
The fact is that 0.012% of all potassium atoms falls on an unstable isotope potassium-40, which is really radioactive- decaying, it emits beta and gamma radiation. They relate to ionizing The type of radiation that can damage DNA and, as a result, provoke the development of cancer or lead to radiation disease.
But in reality, everything is not so scary. Firstly, a person is exposed to radiation constantly-for example, from natural radiation background Earth. Secondly, the shorter the period half -life Atoms of a particular element, especially since it is radioactive (and, accordingly, is dangerous for a person). In potassium-40, the half-life period is 1.3 billion years, so this isotope is not so terrible, especially in those small doses in which people usually use it. For Comparisons, passing through the frame of the metal detector at the airport, a person receives the same dose of radiation as when he eats two and a half banana. The day on Earth with its own radiation background is equivalent to the consumption of 100 bananas (although it depends on a specific area), and the mammography procedure is 4000 bananas. To get a dose of radiation, which can significantly increase the risk of developing cancer, you need to eat about 1 million bananas. Well, 100 million of these fruits can really lead to a radiation disease with a fatal outcome.
Of course, 100 million bananas cannot be used even in life (except to eat 3400 fruits daily for 80 years). There is another good news: potassium does not accumulate in the human body, normally its excess (including radioactive potassium-40) Derived With excrement (mainly with urine). Therefore, do not be afraid that bananas eaten throughout life can over the years increase the radiation load on the body and lead to adverse consequences for health.
Despite the small amount of potassium isotope in bananas, known Cases, When Detectors The radiation was triggered on wagons or trucks loaded with these fruits. Because of their radioactivity, there is even such a thing as "Banana equivalent", That is, a comparison of the resulting dose of radiation (for example, with any insignificant accident) with a dose of radiation, which is received by a person, eating a banana (this is about 0.1 microsiverts). Of course, officially no one measures the radiation leak in bananas - this is only a simplified concept through which it is easier to explain the effects of moderate doses of radiation.
By the way, bananas are not the only foods rich in potassium and, accordingly, containing its radioactive isotope. For example, c avocado contains 690 mg of potassium, in a clubby club baked in the peel potatoes medium size - 926 mg, in 100 g Kurags - 1160 mg, 100 g watermelon pulp - 112 mg (but who eats watermelon in such small portions?).
Thus, the bananas by nature are radioactive due to the high content of potassium in them, including its potassium isotope. However, in order to get a dose of radiation that is able to kill a person or at least somehow harm his health, you need to eat thousands of these fruits-and not in life, but for a relatively short period of time, so that the excess of potassium does not manage to naturally withdraw from the body during metabolism. Since this is simply impossible, you should not be afraid of radiation from bananas.
Photo on the cover: pexels.com
Read on the topic:
- MedicalNewstuday. Top 13 High Potassium Foods
- Healthline. 18 Foods That Pack More Potassium than a Banana
- Is it true that MRI, X -ray, CT and fluorography are dangerous to health?
- Is it true that to protect against infection immediately after exposure to radiation, you need to take iodine?
- Is it true that cacti protect against computer radiation?
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