Show notes
Tons of us are inked — one in three American adults has a tattoo — but lately, we’ve been hearing that tattoos are actually bad for us. We’re told that they mess with our immune system and could even lead to cancer. Can that be true?! Plus, are there any upsides to having a tattoo? We talk to immunologist Dr. Santiago González, epidemiologist Dr. Christel Nielsen, and psychologist Prof. Viren Swami.
Highlighted moments
When you are tattooing your skin, you are also tattooing your lymph nodes.
“So, we're talking about relative risk increases. So, the risk on an individual level is small. People shouldn't be freaking out.”
“we know that a lot of the colors in tattoo inks are made with nitrogen groups called azos. And when azos are broken apart, they can form compounds that we know are carcinogenic.”
Transcript
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