Does Burned Food Really Give You Cancer?

Posted on Aug. 15, 2016, 6 a.m. in Cancer Nutrition – http://www.worldhealth.net

“Do you hesitate to eat a plate of barbecued food that has been blackened, because of the common belief that burned food could possibly cause cancer?

Acrylamide
Acrylamide is a chemical molecule that forms when food is cooked at high temperatures. However, while it is known to be a potential carcinogen and toxic in its industrial form, it is less clear what the link is between consuming it in food and developing cancer.

History
Almost 20 years ago, construction workers building a tunnel, through the Hallandsåsridge on southern Sweden’s Bjäre peninsula, noticed that nearby cows were showing strange symptoms, staggering, collapsing, and some even dying. An investigation showed that they had been drinking contaminated water from a stream, and that the contamination was from acrylamide. The workers were using its polymer, polyacrylamide, as a sealant for cracks. This was safe. However, the polymer-forming reaction was not complete, causing some unreacted acrylamide to still be present.

How is acrylamide formed?
Both the workers and a control group who had no known exposure to industrial acrylamide had their blood tested, and both had unsafe amounts of acrylamide. The chemical was then found in fried potatoes, coffee, and especially in carbohydrate-rich foods, but not protein-rich ones. It was in foods that had been heated above 250°F, that were roasted, fried, or baked. However, it was thought that Acrylamide must always have been formed in these types of foods, ever since the invention of cooking. It isn’t found in uncooked or boiled food and less likely in meat, dairy, and fish. It doesn’t matter if the food is “organic” because it is the type of food that counts.

Other chemicals in meat
Of concern are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formed when meat juices and fat drip onto flames, and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) from reactions between molecules including sugars and amino-acids.

How should food be cooked, and is it a carcinogen?
Cook food until it turns yellow, but not brown or black. This restricts the formation of acrylamide. Although scientists identified the source of acrylamide, they haven’t been able to definitely establish that it is a carcinogen for humans when consumed at levels normally found in cooked food. A 2015 review of data came to the conclusion that “dietary acrylamide is not related to the risk of most common cancers”. However, it did add that a modest association for ovarian, kidney, and endometrial cancers in people who had never smoked could not be ruled out. Some studies have shown that meat that has been fried, burned, or barbecued has a higher possibility of certain cancers, but these links are hard to prove.

Everytime you will eat grilled food looking like the one in the picture you can be sure you’re ingesting carcinogens.

What should you do?
If you have concerns, you can reduce exposure by cooking in a microwave oven instead of over flames and regularly turning the meat. The food may not be as tasty, because grilling, toasting or baking produce many molecules that enhance flavor. Also, marinating meats in beer before grilling them helps to reduce levels of cancer-causing compounds. Eat less meat, or use vegetables instead to replace the meat when grilling. If you have a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables, fruit, and whole grain food, none of those contain acrylamide.”

https://goo.gl/iYWBE5

 

Are there health risks with char-broiling and gas grilling foods?

This article was published this week (December 5-11, 2016) on “The World Healthiest Foods” website managed by the George Mateljan Foundation, a no-profit foundation with no commercial interests or
advertising. “Our mission is to help you eat and cook the healthiest way for optimal health”.

“While grilling does create foods that have a unique flavor and texture, and grilling is pretty synonymous with summertime, we do have some concerns about it.

There are documented health risks associated with the char-broiling and gas grilling of foods. In general, these risks are associated with the formation of heterocyclic amines (HAs). Most HAs are well-documented carcinogens, and keeping their levels to a minimum in a diet can decrease our cancer risk. Here are the basic factors involved with HA formation in food:

• It is best to grill or broil on an area without a direct flame as the temperatures directly above or below the flame can reach as high as 500°F to 1000°F. HAs form most easily at high temperatures. Under 325°F, the formation of these compounds is very low. As temperatures increase above 400°F, the formation of HAs can increase by 700%-1000%. Gas and charcoal grilling often (but not always) involve higher temperatures.
• More HAs form when a food is in very close proximity to a heat source. Flame-grilling is perhaps the best example of a food coming into direct contact with a heat source. Less contact with the heating element (whatever heating element is used) lowers the formation of HAs. In deep fat frying, for example, where we might expect high HA formation, there is often very little HA creation due to relatively low temperatures and indirect exposure to the source of heat (although deep fat frying involves its own set of issues related to health concerns).
• The longer a food is exposed to high heat, the greater the HA formation. When a food like a hamburger is grilled for 10 minutes versus 6 minutes, for example, the HA levels in the hamburger may increase by 25-30%.
• The so-called “MPF” foods (meat, fish, and poultry) are more likely to form give rise to HA formation when prepared in the above fashion because HA formation requires the presence of amino acids (from protein) as well as the nitrogen-containing substances creatine or creatinine. Both of these substances are plentiful in most animal foods.

The principles of nutrient loss from charcoaled or gas-grilled foods are very similar to the principles of all cooking: the shorter the time of exposure to heat, and the lower the heat, the less the nutrient loss. Since this cooking method does not typically involve use of water, there can be less nutrient loss from this method than from boiling or simmering. However, minimal steaming of a food would typically requiring less total cooking time and for this reason result in decreased loss of nutrients.

As noted above, most of the research on HAs has been done on meat. Therefore, it is uncertain that the grilling of vegetables and fruits may have the same level of outcomes, notably because some of the phytonutrients found in vegetables, such as the sulforaphane in broccoli, have been found to reduce the carcinogenic effect of the HAs in research studies.

The bottom line: from a health perspective, we would choose other methods of preparing foods rather than grilling, yet if you want to enjoy grilled foods on occasion, given that the rest of your diet is healthy, it may not be so detrimental. If you do choose to grill foods and use an oil to coat them, we would suggest using an oil that has a high smoke point, such as avocado oil or high-oleic safflower oil to avoid the formation of oxidative damage to the oil itself. Additionally, there are certain antioxidant-containing foods, such as rosemary, citrus fruits and green tea, which have been found to reduce HA levels. Therefore, you could consider using these foods in marinades if you are looking for ways to reduce HA formation.”

https://goo.gl/GbjH28

GRILLED FOOD and CANCER PROBLEMS

Besides the fact there’s more available information many Americans still do not know that grilling can be unhealthy. The cancer risk from grilling, however, is real, but it changes dramatically with what you grill and how you do it.

The problem with traditional grilling comes from the combination of meat with intense heat. Whether you are using red meat, poultry or seafood, substances in the muscle proteins of these foods react under high heat to form carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). HCAs can damage the DNA of our genes, beginning the process of cancer development.

Consumption of HCAs is mostly clearly linked to cancers of the colon and stomach. One study found that people who eat the most barbecued red meat (beef, pork and lamb) almost doubled their risk of colon polyps, compared to those who did not eat these foods. Colon polyps can develop into colon cancer. Some evidence also suggests that these carcinogenic compounds can travel through the bloodstream to other tissues. This would explain why HCAs could be a factor in breast cancer and other cancers.

So, does Grilling Pose A Cancer Risk?

Grilling is not bad for your health. But it appears that bad grilling may be bad for your health. Bad grilling is the way people grill food including all restaurants.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): “Some studies suggest there may be a cancer risk related to eating food cooked by high-heat cooking techniques as grilling, frying, and broiling. Based on present research findings, eating moderate amounts of grilled meats like fish, meat, and poultry cooked — without charring — to a safe temperature does not pose a problem.”

The keywords are “some studies suggest” and “without charring”. It appears that charring the meat can create compounds called Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) that probably are capable of causing colon cancer, lung cancer, or breast cancer if consumed in excess. But, like so many areas of preliminary research, there is conflicting and contrary information. For example, it is not known how many HCAs are problematic.

According to one of the country’s primary researchers in the field, Dr. Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute “There’s a clear relationship between very high temperatures and the risk of cancer-causing agents.”

Dr. Sinha has some healthy cooking advice that all good chefs can agree with from a tasty cooking standpoint. She says we need to avoid blackening meat on the outside. This charring creates potentially hazardous compounds. And, I might add, it just plain tastes bad.

She says we should avoid flare-ups caused when fat hits the flame. Flare-ups just burn the food and deposit soot on the surface. You can avoid flare-ups by using a gas grill with metal flavor bars between the food and the flame, of by using a 2-zone cooking system on a charcoal grill and by having a squirt gun handy.

Dr. Sinha adds that if there are burned parts of the meat, especially burned fat, just cut them off. “It’s important to help consumers understand how to cook without undercooking or overcooking,” to which the National Cancer Institute (NCI) ads “That’s one more reason to use a food thermometer.” Amen.

In their report on Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats, NCI says “Four factors influence HCA formation: Type of food, cooking method, temperature, and time. HCAs are found in cooked muscle meats; other sources of protein (milk, eggs, tofu, and organ meats such as liver) have very little or no HCA content naturally or when cooked. Temperature is the most important factor in the formation of HCAs. Frying, broiling, and barbecuing produce the largest amounts of HCAs because the meats are cooked at very high temperatures.”

They also added “Researchers found that those who ate their beef medium-well or well-done had more than three times the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate their beef rare or medium-rare.” I might add that well done meat is tougher and drier.

It is important that consumers understand that much of the relationship between HCA and cancer is still not thoroughly understood, that there is a lot of research yet to be done, and that eating burned steak once or twice a year probably isn’t going to make you sick. Nor is eating well done steak. The real message here is that good food is also good for you and that if you’re going to grill, do it right.

AFTER READ THIS YOU CAN CONCLUDE:

GRILLED FOOD IS NOT BAD! BAD IS THE WAY IT IS COOKED!

How many people do it right? None! Some can try to avoid it but, to do it properly some methods need to be used that are not available in the market. However there are some tricks you can use in order to make an Healthy Grilled meal. (Click HERE and your will learn how to make it happen).

HEALTHY GRILL USA IS THE FIRST FOOD PROJECT ABLE TO PROVIDE GRILLED FOOD FREE OF THOSE CARCINOGENS!

Healthy Grill USA not only meets but also exceeds the requirements recommended by major organizations dedicated to the research and treatment of cancerous diseases.

As a result of the contact established with two major national organizations (USA) responsible for research and dissemination of methods to combat cancer, today we received two emails in response.

It’s simply amazing how the idea of grilling food in a traditional way and using the known traditional systems is growing in terms of being considered highly carcinogenic.

On both emails, some articles came as attachments to explain what we have been done for long time.

The first one from the National Cancer Institute:

“This NCI fact sheet explains how certain chemicals are formed in meat that is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling, and describes the results of research on the relationship between consumption of these chemicals and cancer risk.

Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk – http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cooked-meats”

And the second one from the American cancer Society:

“On an extra note, you may like to review our information below that discusses how cooking meat affects cancer risk as well as fish and fats:

Common questions about diet and cancer –
http://www.cancer.org/healthy/eathealthygetactive/acsguidelinesonnutritionphysicalactivityforcancerprevention/acs-guidelines-on-nutrition-and-physical-activity-for-cancer-prevention-common-questions”

Well, after we analyze if there was something new in relation to what existed in all the research and studies done on the subject since the early 70s’ to the present day, we find that nothing has changed.

Yes, we know all that is mentioned in the articles that were sent us. By this fact, we can confirm that, through the concepts of food preparation, the products and the cooking methods we use, the project Healthy Grill USA, is unique.

In the concept of Healthy Grill restaurants, we cook food without producing carcinogenic that are mentioned in articles. For this, the project Healthy Grill USA contemplates becoming the first grill restaurant concept to become a legitimate sponsor of actions and organizations that can contribute to research and fight against cancerous diseases.

One of the articles suggests something in order to reduce the exposure to the HCA/PAH and its consumption by using several cooking methods.

The suggestions are:

1 – Avoiding direct exposure of meat to an open flame or a hot metal surface and avoiding prolonged cooking times (especially at high temperatures) can help reduce HCA and PAH formation.

2 – Using a microwave oven to cook meat prior to exposure to high temperatures can also substantially reduce HCA formation by reducing the time that meat must be in contact with high heat to finish cooking.

3 – Continuously turning meat over on a high heat source can substantially reduce HCA formation compared with just leaving the meat on the heat source without flipping it often.

4 – Removing charred portions of meat and refraining from using gravy made from meat drippings can also reduce HCA and PAH exposure.

Our answers to those suggestions and the result of what we do are:

1 – No, we don’t cook any food exposing it to open flame. The contact with metal surfaces is lower than 0.0393 inches and in some situations 0 inches (simply doesn’t exists). As wide and long is the metal surface, higher chances of producing carcinogens. We control cooking times and temperature levels according to each type of food don’t allowing the production of charred pieces or extreme caramelization.

No commercial known restaurant does that!

2 – We don’t need to use this method because we don’t have that problem. As final result we will not change the flavor characteristics or even the nutritional values of those using microwave as a strategy.

We grill any food maintaining the natural flavors and keeping up to 80% of their nutrients maintaining them juicier. Without any tricks we produce the juicier grill food people can have.

3 – This concept make sense if using any of the regular grill cooking methods. We don’t need to do that to avoid or eliminate the production of carcinogens.

Turning the food often contributes to loose their juices and, in a regular grill system also contributes to increase the charred parts of the food. This happens because you are changing the food contact points with the grid (metal surface), creating new ones.

4 – Each type of food has a different preparation method before go to grill. A proper marination contribute to reduce carcinogenic effects, however even doing that, we don’t have the issues that regular systems have, in order to avoid them.

After explaining all that (but we have more good things), isn’t it clear that, we definitely are the innovative, unique and healthiest “grill restaurant concept” in the food service industry?

Result of  several y

ears of researches and development, this project contemplates much more than everything that is recommended by these organizations.

Next step will be to meet them and not just explain but show them what we do to get incredible results. For sure will be something that will surprise them. We have learned during all these years but now we also have an educational side!