More on Brain Tumors and the Environment

Guess if you are enjoying a cup of tea while chatting on your cell phone, it cancels out the risk.

Questions have been raised about whether cell phones increase the risk of brain tumors. My current impression is that the risk is modest relative to that of thousands of other chemicals in the environment, which offer me little benefit. So I avoid those instead and continue to happily enjoy my cell phone without worrying about it. ;-)

This is not to say that research should not continue on cell phone (and overall environmental) safety. Rather, it suggests we don't have to go neurotic worrying about everything in the environment.

For example, a large recent study suggested that drinking at least 3 ounces a day of tea or coffee was associated with a 33 percent decreased risk of a brain tumor called "Gliomas." The authors conclude, "In this large cohort study, we observed an inverse association between total coffee and tea consumption and risk of glioma that was consistent with the findings of a recent study."

So I guess if you have a cup of tea or coffee a day, it can cancel out the risk of being on your cell phone.

Seems a good solution to me!

Reference

"Coffee and tea intake and risk of brain tumors in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study," Michaud DS, Gallo V, et al, Am J Clin Nutr, 2010; 92(5): 1145-50.