Contents:
- Medical Video: BEWARE: Consuming Bread Can Cause CANCER | Detailed LABORATORY Report | Guru Mann
- Is it true that eating burned meat causes cancer?
- What makes HCAs and PAHs can form in baked meat?
- What is the evidence that indeed HCAs and PAHs in burnt foods increase cancer risk?
- Then how do you reduce HCAs and PAHs when baking food?
Medical Video: BEWARE: Consuming Bread Can Cause CANCER | Detailed LABORATORY Report | Guru Mann
Do you often eat burnt meat and then eat burnt or charred parts because do you think it feels crunchy and savory? Many people who think that eating charred food can cause cancer, is that true? Or is it just a myth?
Cancer is one of the diseases that can be experienced by everyone, regardless of age, race, or ethnicity. According to data from the World Health Organization it is known that the incidence of cancer increased by 70% in the last two decades. In addition, in 2012 14 million new cancer cases were found and 8.2 million died of cancer. The cause of cancer is still a big question mark, but many risk factors may increase a person's risk for cancer. Examples are life patterns, food choices, and genetics. Then, is it true that one of the triggers of cancer is charred food?
Is it true that eating burned meat causes cancer?
Burned meat contains chemicals such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are formed due to the roasting process and burning of these foods. Both of these chemicals increase the risk of cancer because they can cause changes in DNA in the body, and are mutagenic.
Actually, both types of chemicals are formed by themselves when the roasted meat muscles are cooked at very high temperatures and directly exposed to fire. HCAs are formed from amino acids, glucose, and creatine - which are found in cow muscle, chicken, or goat - which then react to high temperatures. While PAHs are formed when fat from meat is exposed to fire directly without any intermediaries. In addition to foods that are burned or baked, HCAs are not found in large amounts in food. Whereas PAHs can be found in other scorched foods, in cigarette smoke, and in car exhaust fumes.
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What makes HCAs and PAHs can form in baked meat?
The two chemicals are formed varying in number depending on the type of meat cooked, how to cook, and the level of maturity. But whatever the type of meat, if baked in a temperature of more than 150 degrees Celsius, the cooked meat tends to form HCAs, whatever the level of maturity.
HCAs and PAHs are able to change DNA in the body only when the two substances are metabolized by a particular enzyme, and the process is called bioactivation. Various studies show that the activation of these two chemicals varies for each person. Therefore, everyone also has a different level of risk for cancer.
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What is the evidence that indeed HCAs and PAHs in burnt foods increase cancer risk?
In the results of studies conducted in animals, HCAs and PAHs were indeed positive for causing cancer in experimental animals. For example, mice used as experimental material, those given foods containing HCAs and PAHs became suffering from breast, intestinal, lung, prostate, and several other organs. While the mice were given food containing PAHs in it, suffering from cancerous blood tumors and cancer in the digestive system, and lung cancer. However, the dosage of HCAs and PAHs used in each of these trials is indeed very high, or equivalent to thousands of times the dose that humans might eat under normal circumstances.
For research carried out with human objects, it is indeed difficult to do. Because PAHs and HCAs react differently to everyone, besides that there is no tool that can measure the levels of PHAs and HCAs consumed by someone. So it is difficult to determine whether the cancer suffered by a person is caused by HCAs and PAHs contained in burned meat. However, several studies have tried to examine the related HCAs and PAHs in humans. The results of the study show that people who often eat baked meat increase their risk of developing colon, pancreatic, and prostate cancer.
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Then how do you reduce HCAs and PAHs when baking food?
Although there are no specific guidelines governing the consumption of PACs and HCAs, to reduce the levels of these two chemicals you can do is:
- Avoid cooking meat with a direct fire or on a hot metal surface, especially done at very high temperatures.
- During cooking, the meat should continue to be flipped back and forth, this can reduce the formation of HCAs
- Remove the charred parts of the meat and do not make sauces or spices made from the liquid that comes out of cooked meat, because both of these contain quite high PAHs and HCAs.
