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this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
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So… if we eat an unrealistic amount of processed meat we will get sick?
Who knew?
Next they’ll tell us that swallowing even 1 mouthful of hydrogen peroxide mouthwash is unsafe.
Doesn't hydrogen peroxide just degrade into water and oxygen? How is it harmful?
when it spontaneously degrades, yes, it turns into tame water and healthy oxygen, but when it touches organic matter (your skin, tongue, mouth, etc) the oxygen directly reacts with the carbon atoms to make CO2, effectively "burning" away your tissues very slowly.
Usually, you don't notice that because you use store-bought 3% peroxide, but chemists regularly use the much more powerful 35% peroxide, which gives you nasty burns
peroxide burn
also, fun fact, some cells produce hydrogen peroxide as a waste product, so nature has evolved the catalase enzyme to break it down, and that's why you see bubbling when using it on a scar but not on skin, because that enzyme is only inside you and your blood
I see, so oxygen is leached much faster and causes damage via hyperoxidation. Thank you for the writeup!