Burnt Food May Be Hazardous To Your Health
Studies have suggested that cooking food until it’s charred or burnt can increase the acrylamide formation. A 2012 article called “Is eating burned food bad for you?”, suggests that cooked foods, cooked starchy foods, even organic cooked foods, are known to be harmful to humans health.
Not only eating burnt food can cause health problems. A result of being exposed to acrylamide is known to cause skin problems like dermatitis, abnormal mass of tissue like tumors, skin cancer, weakened immune system, or possibly nerve damage. In the “American Journal of Industrial Medicine” reports suggest that high levels of acrylamide in the workplace such as cole preparation plants have shown a sign of peripheral neuropathy in the workers.
What Is Acrylamide?
Acrylamide is an extremely hazardous substance, which is a chemical compound found in cooked foods. Acrylamide is caused by reactions from the natural amino-acid asparagine and some (naturally-occurring) carbohydrates. There’s prompted concerns about the hazardous carcinogenicity. Further research is needed to determine if acrylamide is the cause of cancer. It should be noted that the FDA does not regulate the amount of HCAs or acrylamide in food, so it is up to you to lessen your exposure. (1)
Are there other ways humans are exposed to acrylamide?
Food and cigarette smoke are the major sources of acrylamide exposure. Exposure to acrylamide from other sources is likely to be significantly less than that from food or smoking, but scientists do not yet have a complete understanding of all sources of exposure. Acrylamide and polyacrylamide are used in some industrial and agricultural procedures, and regulations are in place to limit exposure in those settings. (2)
Can I Prepare My Foods Differently To Decrease Acrylamide Exposure?
Simply by reducing the amount of cook time, by steaming foods, or using water to boil your food can lower the acrylamide content in some foods. Eating home cooked meals are healthier overall, and avoid fried foods. As you don’t necessarily need to cut them out altogether, but there is research that suggests that eating home-cooked food in general will help you consume less acrylamide than eating processed food. Although no one likes to do the dishes, it’s more convenient to be healthy in the long run!
Resources:
(1) Kirschner, Chanie. (5 June 2017) “Is Eating Burned Food Bad for You?” MNN – Mother Nature Network, Mother Nature Network, www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/questions/is-eating-burned-food-bad-for-you.
(2) “Acrylamide in Food and Cancer Risk.” (2017). National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/acrylamide-fact-sheet#q1.
Sources:
“Acrylamide in Food and Cancer Risk.” (2017). National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/acrylamide-fact-sheet#q1.
Adewale OO, Brimson JM, Odunola OA, Gbadegesin MA, Owumi SE, Isidoro C, Tencomnao T (2015). “The Potential for Plant Derivatives against Acrylamide Neurotoxicity”. Phytother Res (Review). 29: 978–85. PMID 25886076. doi:10.1002/ptr.5353.
Kirschner, Chanie. (5 June 2017) “Is Eating Burned Food Bad for You?” MNN – Mother Nature Network, Mother Nature Network, www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/questions/is-eating-burned-food-bad-for-you.
Mulloy KB. Two case reports of neurological disease in coal mine preparation plant workers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1996; 30(1):56–61.
Pelucchi, Claudio, et al. (26 Nov. 2014). “Dietary Acrylamide and Cancer Risk: An Updated Meta‐Analysis.”International Journal of Cancer, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.29339/pdf.
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