Researchers have newly discovered a surprising and potentially significant reason why eating foods frequently cooked at high temperatures, such as red meat and deep-fried fare, elevates cancer risk. The alleged culprit: DNA within the food that's been damaged by the cooking process.
Bullet point summary of the full paper
“The consumption of foods prepared at high temperatures has been associated with numerous health risks.”
In previous studies, high heat has specifically been examined with its ability to transform harmless molecules into small-molecule metabolites that can interact with DNA such as “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs)… aldehydes, acrylamide, and N-nitroso compounds”
When such species interact with DNA, “mutations when replication specificity is altered by modified nucleobases and in genotoxicity and chromosomal rearrangements when strand breaks occur during repair”
The amount of DNA seems to be reflective of how many of these small metabolites are formed. For example, in animal products, often associated with health concerns, we see high amounts of DNA content (cows = 5.3-19.5g/kg, pigs = 6.9 - 21.2g/kg). But in plants, we see a far lower amounts with grains, starches, fruits, and legumes the lowest (wheat = 0.6g/kg, lentils = 0.7-0.8g/kg, potatoes = 1g/kg, avocado = 0.6g/kg), and vegetables being higher (spinach = 2.6g/kg, cauliflower = 2.8g/kg, broccoli = 5.1g/kg)
This study notes that the link between small-molecule agents and health concerns are not yet proven. They primarily focused on examining connection between individual parts of said DNA hypothesis.
They note that if their findings continue to be held up as true, frying/grilling/smoking are probably the worst, roasting being similarly bad, and boiling being the least harmful. With raw and non-heat processed foods being the best.
The authors note they are not yet clear on why many plant foods seem to have protective effects in other studies for cancer, but they do write “starch may contribute to some protection against reactive oxygen species” which is common in many unprocessed plant foods like legumes and tubers.
TL;DR: Food products still contain DNA from their sources. When consumed, the DNA must be broken down and utilized by our digestive system. When exposed to high heat, DNA from foods may break down into harmful molecules. When we consume said DNA in our food, it can be harmful to our existing DNA causing deleterious mutations. Some foods have less DNA content and speculated protective compounds such as starch which may prevent some of damage to us including many plant foods, but specifically tubers, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and grains. The study reinforces previous studies showing diets high in said protective foods and low in animal products may result in positive health impacts including lower rates of cancer.
Damn I eat meat almost everyday. I guess I should start a vegetarian diet .-.
Or just reduce your meat consumption. Daily sounds like a lot. I love meat but I don’t think I usually have it more than 2-3 times a week.
Sounds like a solid choice! Maybe not for the cancer risk alone, since that is tough to prove definitively, but for the ethical and environmental concerns for sure. I used to eat meat 2+ times a day, but one day like 5 years ago I just stopped. Seems too easy with all the options available to us
I don’t know if I could do that honestly. I tried once but I love meat way too much. I think I’m going to reduce my meat consumption to once per week or so, and as soon as lab grown meat catches on, I’m only going to eat that kind of meat.
Would recommend trying some of the new plant-based meat products while you’re at it. Stuff from Impossible and Beyond Foods are pretty much taste-alikes for burgers. Morningstar has the same with appetizer items like chicken nuggets. Gardein is cheaper and usually marketed as healthy (lower saturated fat and sodium), but isn’t as good for said healthy reasons. I still buy that because of the low cost though. Places like Aldi have their own products that are the cheapest of them all and pretty decent tasting ngl.
Heads up: long rambly comment!
Personally I do still eat meat, but I eat much less than I used to. I quite like Beyond’s sausage products (links and breakfast-style). I was using a lot of their ground beef for a while, but it continues to be not quite beef-like enough to be a 100% substitute for me. I feel like they went for something that would taste really good as a burger at the expense of tasting a little weird as, for example, a bolognese. Still, I do continue to buy it.
I haven’t tried any substitute chicken nuggets or anything, but that’s also not really the kind of thing I cook anyway. A good chicken substitute for me personally would have to be one that holds up well in a soup, and I see that as being probably pretty tricky!
One that I just tried for the first time this week was the beefless bulgogi that Trader Joe’s sells. It was delicious, really excellent with some rice! Texture isn’t quite the same but not in a bad way.
Another thing I’ve had my eye on is plant-based seafood substitutes, mostly from a sustainability point of view, but it seems like most of the ones out there are trying to replicate fish that are already fairly sustainable, like shrimp and salmon.
Long comments are good comments in my opinion lol.
If you’re looking for a chicken substitute that holds up, look no further than Sweet Earth’s “Chik’n” strips. I tried Morningstar’s and I didn’t find it to be the right texture. Sweet earth somehow figured out the perfect non-breaded chicken strip. I’d use that jazz in anything if I wasn’t trying to conserve my budget.
Also, idk if you’ve tried it yet, but Gardein makes a great “chick’n” noodle soup for lazy days.
I wish the seafood substitutes were there. The breaded stuff like fish and chips are great and there are a few brands of tuna substitutes I like, but I haven’t seen a shrimp or salmon substitute. For sushi or smoked salmon bits, sure, there are lots of things that have a similar taste, but I haven’t found anything like something you’d get in a restaurant. If you like to cook, (sauce stache)[https://youtu.be/T8MaZXj9N-U] always comes through with surprisingly good tasting recipes.
Thanks for the references! Next time I’m at the grocery store I’ll poke around and see if I can find any of those chicken substitutes! A lazy chicken soup actually sounds pretty appealing: the from-scratch method gives great results, but it does take a surprisingly long time!