DO YOU KNOW THAT THESE Hidden Carcinogens in Bread, Cereal, Potato Chips, Fries, and More ARE HARMFUL?
You have probably heard conflicting
opinions out there in the nutrition world if breads, cereals, and other grain-based foods are good for you or not. On one hand, you've got the mega-powerful multi-billion dollar food companies that make huge profits off of cheap grain-based foods and they attempt to convince the public that breads, cereals, etc are "healthy".On the other hand, you've got the select camp of scientists, journalists, some nutritionists, etc that believe that humans are still adapted to eating more of a "Paleo" style of diet, which greatly limits grains of all types, since grains historically never comprised more than a tiny percentage of the human diet until just the most recent agricultural age, which allowed mass production of grains for the first time in human history.
But let's forget about the "whole grain is healthy" propaganda camp vs the Paleo style nutrition camp (which I lean towards mostly, except for weekly cheat meals... because let's face it, breads and cereals are tasty, and even if we weren't meant to consume large amounts overall, I know I still want my weekly cheat meals!) ... Instead, let's focus on one particular nail in the coffin for breads, cereals, and the biggest offender, fries and chips...
The Carcinogenic Acrylamides (there's good and bad news)
You may have heard about "Acrylamides" and that their possible negative health effects as a carcinogen, but maybe you were unsure which foods have the highest concentrations. Well, fried starchy foods are one of the worst offenders! Acrylamides are created mostly from starchy foods that have been subjected to a high temperature. That includes foods like potato chips, french fries, corn chips, cereals, bread, crackers, pretzels and more.
Basically any starchy carbohydrate cooked at a high temperature through any method of toasting, roasting, baking, or frying will contain higher levels of acrylamides. Acrylamides generally don't form if a food is cooked using water. It can also be found in toasted and roasted cereal grains and bread products -- again with the highest levels contained in those baked to a golden brown... so that brown crust on the bread actually contains the highest levels of this carcinogen.Check It Out Here!
And, sorry french fry lovers... the highest acrylamide levels have been measured in any type of fried potatoes. Potato chips and french fries fried to a golden brown contain the highest levels of nasty acrylamides.
How bad are Acrylamides?
Acrylamides in foods were discovered in 2002 by Swedish scientists, and made some big headlines (at least in America) when they were first reported. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) really has not acknowledged the negative impact of cancer-causing acrylamides, and food manufacturers, so far, are not putting warning labels on their products concerning the levels of acrylamides, either.
Acrylamides are cancer-causing chemicals that are created when foods are grilled, fried, baked or roasted at fairly high temperatures. It is thought that an amino acid found in starchy foods, changes its form when heated to become acrylamide. High-temperature cooking methods, such as frying, baking, or broiling, have been found to produce the most acrylamides, while boiling and steaming produce far less.
Researchers in Europe and the United States have found acrylamides in certain foods that were heated to a temperature above 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit), but not in foods prepared below this temperature.
The World Health Organization, (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that levels of acrylamides in certain foods pose a "major concern" and more research is needed to determine the dangers.Check It Out Here!
In one study, it was found that women who consumed 40 micrograms or more of acrylamides each day had twice the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer risk of women who ate foods with little or no acrylamides. 40 mcg is the amount of acrylamides in a small portion of potato chips.
Acrylamide levels in certain foods:
Potato chips - 546 micrograms/kg
French fries - 698 micrograms/kg
breakfast cereal - 131 micrograms/kg
coffee - 8.5 micrograms/kg. You have all the information at your finger tips now. It is up to you to apply it wisely. Enjoy your reading and stay with us. Thanks.
Bernard Chikere Gakwe.
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