Can You Get Tin Toxicity From Eating Canned Foods?
There are times when we feel too tired to cook or make a meal from the start. That is when eating canned food can be helpful. Canned food on its own is not that bad. The problem can be with the way it gets packed. This step can be harmful to us and could cause bad effects on our health. A big issue is the coating they use inside the can or tin. This is where some problems can start.
What role does tin play in food preservation and how can it affect health?
Tin has been used for a long time to keep food fresh, but now there is more concern about its safety, especially in canned foods. Pure tin is mostly safe and does not harm people, but getting too much of it—like when cans get damaged or are not kept well—can be bad for your health. Food cans are usually made of steel with a thin coat of tin on top, called tinplate, that keeps the can from rusting. This tin cover can break down if it touches foods that have a lot of acid, such as tomatoes or citrus fruits. When this happens, tin can get into the food. If someone takes in a lot of tin, they might feel sick for a short time with stomach pain, feel like throwing up, throw up, or have the runs. Some people have even gotten tin sickness when food was kept in cans that did not have a coating or were rusty.
Why are can linings a concern for health?
People worry about the inside surface of tin cans, not just what they are made from. The coated surface inside a can is often made from plastic. A lot of these used to include BPA. That is a chemical linked to hormone problems, development troubles, and a higher chance of some cancers. Now, many companies offer cans without BPA. But not all of them have removed it completely. Cans with no BPA may have other chemicals. People do not know for sure what these may do to your health. If a can is bent or damaged, it can be more risky. A scratch or dent can hurt the coated inside, making it more likely for stuff to get in from the outside.
Why is tin toxicity hard to identify?
Tin poisoning can be tough to spot. The way it acts in the body can be like what happens with other bad metals. Tin gets in the way of how your body uses some nutrients. This can also slow down your body’s natural way to get rid of other metals that are bad for you. A person may feel symptoms of tin, but they may get missed or mixed up with something else. It can make finding the real cause harder. How strong the symptoms are will depend on how much tin gets into the body and how long it stays there.
What are the reported effects of tin toxicity?
People have said that tin toxicity can cause the eyes and skin to feel sore. You might get headaches that stay for a long time. It can also upset your stomach with things like throwing up, loose stools, and cramps in the stomach.
Some signs can affect your nerves, like feeling dizzy, changes in mood, trouble sleeping, and trouble remembering things. Feeling very sad can happen too and has been linked to too much tin in the body. If someone gets a more serious case, it could hurt the liver. It might also hurt the system in your body that helps keep you healthy. There can be problems going to the bathroom, like not being able to hold it in. A person can have fewer red blood cells.
If a person stays around tin for a long time, it could change their genes and hurt the chromosomes.
Where else can tin exposure come from?
Processed foods and drinks, like fruit juices, can have different amounts of tin in them. This means what we eat is a big way people get tin in their bodies. It is important to check how much tin is in the things that we eat and drink. People should also know that even little bits of tin, if eaten often, can add up and may cause health problems over time.
If you often eat food from cans or know that you are around tin a lot, it may be good to get a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA). This test can help you find out your tin levels. It will let you know if you need help to remove tin from your body.