I don't expect you to read all that, I just had to put it all down because it tickles me so...
In Memoriam Premortem
I'll forego the cliched pun for this extended education on the processing of foods, in favor of a simple sweet kick to the teeth (and the more subtle pun). All formalities aside, I learned this news sometime ago, and decided it best to share, this food for thought (I know I promised not to).
We all know, I'm sure, that the water we drink is filled with chemicals, air we breathe laced with death and, irrevocably, the time we spend on earth limited. Today one of the major concerns has to be the issue of cancer. It's in the air, the sky and stars, but did you know?...
Meat has been the source of life for untold generations of humanity. It was the preverbial bread and better of an infantile empire and with the discovery of fire, it became the best thing since, well must I say it? Now back to the original question, did you know that when you cook meats, that is to say beef in specific, natural constituents react to form heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The hotter and more crisp the result, the more prevelant the HCAs become.
Why does that matter?
A few years ago, two midwestern universities and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda found strong support for the link between HCAs (heterocyclic amines) and cancer, and it has since been adopted as a carcinogen. HCAs have been found to bind to DNA in breast cells, and create adducts (this being step one in cancer). Unsettling to say the least, but it would only be a matter of time before researchs found a way to quell the promotion of HCAs, especially considering the culprit is such a sought after food in this day and age.
And I thought we were supposed to hate carbohydrates...
Researchers have known for some time of the ability of carbohydrates to dissipate HCAs. With this information in hand, Lund University researchers began to investigate. Lund researvers tested 11 different carbohydrates for the potential of becoming additives, and ultimately they discovered that potato starch was paramount, finding it could reduce the number of HCAs to merely 5.5 nanograms. Remarkable. And the bun has earned it spot on top...but we're sure to remember what happened to the cookie aren't we?
Maybe I still should?
Stockholm University, in co-operation with the best of the best at Sweden's National Food Administration announced (publicly mind you, opting to proceed with a press conference before publishing their findings in a medical journal, due to the gravity of their discoveries) that when heated, carbohydrate rich foods - which includes, but is not exclusive to, potatoes, rice and cereals - produce acrymalide...a known carcinogen. And the circle of life is complete. The Internation Agency for Research on Cancer has found that acrymalide can induce gene mutations as well as malignant stomach tumors. The Swedish researchers noted, ”Acrylamide is formed during the preparation of food and occurs in many foodstuffs." This including french fires, breads, biscuits, certain cereals, as well as potato chips, which it is said that an ordinary bag of potato chips may contain up to 500 times more acrymalide than is allowed in drinking water by the World Health Organization. An associate professor at Stockholm University even went so far as to say that the consumption of a single potato crisp could,alone, reach the maximum for acrymalide set by WHO.
I'll forego the cliched pun for this extended education on the processing of foods, in favor of a simple sweet kick to the teeth (and the more subtle pun). All formalities aside, I learned this news sometime ago, and decided it best to share, this food for thought (I know I promised not to).
We all know, I'm sure, that the water we drink is filled with chemicals, air we breathe laced with death and, irrevocably, the time we spend on earth limited. Today one of the major concerns has to be the issue of cancer. It's in the air, the sky and stars, but did you know?...
Meat has been the source of life for untold generations of humanity. It was the preverbial bread and better of an infantile empire and with the discovery of fire, it became the best thing since, well must I say it? Now back to the original question, did you know that when you cook meats, that is to say beef in specific, natural constituents react to form heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The hotter and more crisp the result, the more prevelant the HCAs become.
Why does that matter?
A few years ago, two midwestern universities and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda found strong support for the link between HCAs (heterocyclic amines) and cancer, and it has since been adopted as a carcinogen. HCAs have been found to bind to DNA in breast cells, and create adducts (this being step one in cancer). Unsettling to say the least, but it would only be a matter of time before researchs found a way to quell the promotion of HCAs, especially considering the culprit is such a sought after food in this day and age.
And I thought we were supposed to hate carbohydrates...
Researchers have known for some time of the ability of carbohydrates to dissipate HCAs. With this information in hand, Lund University researchers began to investigate. Lund researvers tested 11 different carbohydrates for the potential of becoming additives, and ultimately they discovered that potato starch was paramount, finding it could reduce the number of HCAs to merely 5.5 nanograms. Remarkable. And the bun has earned it spot on top...but we're sure to remember what happened to the cookie aren't we?
Maybe I still should?
Stockholm University, in co-operation with the best of the best at Sweden's National Food Administration announced (publicly mind you, opting to proceed with a press conference before publishing their findings in a medical journal, due to the gravity of their discoveries) that when heated, carbohydrate rich foods - which includes, but is not exclusive to, potatoes, rice and cereals - produce acrymalide...a known carcinogen. And the circle of life is complete. The Internation Agency for Research on Cancer has found that acrymalide can induce gene mutations as well as malignant stomach tumors. The Swedish researchers noted, ”Acrylamide is formed during the preparation of food and occurs in many foodstuffs." This including french fires, breads, biscuits, certain cereals, as well as potato chips, which it is said that an ordinary bag of potato chips may contain up to 500 times more acrymalide than is allowed in drinking water by the World Health Organization. An associate professor at Stockholm University even went so far as to say that the consumption of a single potato crisp could,alone, reach the maximum for acrymalide set by WHO.