Our bodies are less efficient at detoxifying heterocyclic amines—carcinogens formed from cooked muscle tissue—than once believed.
Carcinogens in Roasted Chicken?
That’s why we have to cook the crap out of them—literally. But seventy years ago, a Swedish researcher first reported that feeding mice roasted horse muscles caused cancer. This “cancer-producing substance” has since been identified. Heterocyclic amines are “the carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscles…such as beef, pork, [poultry], and fish,” created when the building blocks of muscles react to high heat—roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing. Seventeen different such carcinogens have so far been discovered in cooked meats.
And the National Cancer Institute goes on to explain how people eating meat well-done appear to have higher cancer risk than those eating meat cooked rare. So we’re kind of damned if we do, damned if we don’t, because, you know, we’re not supposed to eat meat rare any more, because of the risk of food poisoning. So, it’s like we can take our pick—cancer or E. coli.
The reason we’re so concerned these days about these cooked meat carcinogens is that last year, we learned that humans are much more susceptible than we thought. The prior research was done on rats, and rodents have this uncanny ability to detoxify 99% of the heterocyclic amines we stuff down their throats. But last year, we discovered that the human liver can detoxify only 50% of the carcinogens we get from eating cooked chicken, for example.
So, instead of 1% getting into our system—based on rat studies—we now know 50% gets into our bloodstream. So now, we’re 50 times more concerned.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
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- H. Frandsen. Biomonitoring of urinary metabolites of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) following human consumption of cooked chicken. Food Chem. Toxicol., 46(9):3200-3205, 2008.
- Widmark, EMP. 1939. Presence of Cancer-producing Substances in Roasted Food. Nature 143, 984-984.
- National Cancer Institute. 2010. Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk.
That’s why we have to cook the crap out of them—literally. But seventy years ago, a Swedish researcher first reported that feeding mice roasted horse muscles caused cancer. This “cancer-producing substance” has since been identified. Heterocyclic amines are “the carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscles…such as beef, pork, [poultry], and fish,” created when the building blocks of muscles react to high heat—roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing. Seventeen different such carcinogens have so far been discovered in cooked meats.
And the National Cancer Institute goes on to explain how people eating meat well-done appear to have higher cancer risk than those eating meat cooked rare. So we’re kind of damned if we do, damned if we don’t, because, you know, we’re not supposed to eat meat rare any more, because of the risk of food poisoning. So, it’s like we can take our pick—cancer or E. coli.
The reason we’re so concerned these days about these cooked meat carcinogens is that last year, we learned that humans are much more susceptible than we thought. The prior research was done on rats, and rodents have this uncanny ability to detoxify 99% of the heterocyclic amines we stuff down their throats. But last year, we discovered that the human liver can detoxify only 50% of the carcinogens we get from eating cooked chicken, for example.
So, instead of 1% getting into our system—based on rat studies—we now know 50% gets into our bloodstream. So now, we’re 50 times more concerned.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- H. Frandsen. Biomonitoring of urinary metabolites of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) following human consumption of cooked chicken. Food Chem. Toxicol., 46(9):3200-3205, 2008.
- Widmark, EMP. 1939. Presence of Cancer-producing Substances in Roasted Food. Nature 143, 984-984.
- National Cancer Institute. 2010. Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk.
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Carcinogens in Roasted Chicken?
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For more on meat and carcinogens, check out these videos:
- Estrogenic Cooked Meat Carcinogens
- Carcinogens in the Smell of Frying Bacon
- Meat Fumes: Dietary Secondhand Smoke
- Heterocyclic Amines in Eggs, Cheese, and Creatine?
- When Nitrites Go Bad
And check out the prequel: Fecal Residues on Chicken.
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