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.
  • root@lemmy.world
    1·
    1 year ago

    So, what about slow cooking meat? I guess that’s still in those temperature ranges, huh?

    • higgsbi@beehaw.org
      2·
      1 year ago

      Given that heat-induced deamination producing dU in isolated DNA continues to proceed over extended times (Figure 2b), (18) hours of roasting or smoking could potentially result in higher levels of damage, although this was not tested here. For dU in briefly roasted beef, the amounts found here correspond to milligram quantities in a serving of cooked meat, as much as 1000 times greater than concentrations of HCA or PAH molecules in cooked meats

      Summary here

      • realChem@beehaw.orgM
        1·
        1 year ago

        Forgive me if I’m reading sarcasm into your comment where it wasn’t intended, but raw food diets are definitely a thing, and there are people who choose to abide by them. It’s not a diet I would personally choose, but for some folks it works.

          • higgsbi@beehaw.org
            1·
            1 year ago

            I also have no ability to detect sarcasm so apologies if this was in jest.

            Eating raw foods doesn’t guarantee not getting cancer. We’re constantly exposed to carcinogens so the best thing we can do is reasonably avoid them when we can. Raw food diets are pretty tough to keep up with and have their own risks. Just eat a diet comprised of mostly or all plants, avoid a lot of added sugar, saturated fat, sodium, alcohol, and nicotine containing products. Just by doing that, you give yourself a pretty good chance of a healthy life.