Taste does come into the matter, as the crispier you take your toast, the more you’re risking cancer so opting for that crunchy texture is increasing your chances at the disease.
- Researchers examined toast and potatoes from 50 different households
- Well cooked food releases acrylamide, a chemical that increases the risk for cancer
- Toasted cooked to “dark brown” presented with 19 more times the risk than lightly toasted
- Fries held the record in terms of quantity, with 1,052 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram
Researchers at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have conducted a test on toast and potatoes cooked within 50 households. The purpose was to ascertain the amount of acrylamide present in those particular foods. It’s a chemical compound that is produced through cooking. The FSA has deemed it as “genotoxic carcinogen” due to its abilities to interact with the DNA in cells.
This disruption and genetic interaction may lead to cancer, or at least increase the risk.
The team of researchers found that the crispier the toast or potatoes, the higher the level of acrylamide went. This means that the delectable crunch and crispy food that many prefer present with an increased risk of developing cancer. And this is certainly unfortunate news for most.
According to FSA adviser, Guy Poppy, it should all be toasted, roasted, or cooked to the “lightest color acceptable”. Or, at least, to the minimal degree where it could still be considered as ‘cooked’.
When placing toast to the test, the scientists found that after the lightest amount of cooking, it held 9 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram. The effects were far too insignificant to be deemed risky. However, the toasted done to the darkest color had 167 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram, which almost 19 times more than lightly toasted bread. All that extra crunch arrives with a risk.
This is why the FSA recommends that the toast regularly consumed with your breakfast should touch that “golden” mark, instead of “dark brown”. The more it’s cooked, the higher the levels of the toxic chemicals are released.
Roasted potatoes arrived with bigger risks, featuring 490 micrograms of acrylamide on their most well-cooked, in comparison to the 6 micrograms within the least cooked. And apparently, purposefully ‘fluffing them up’ only makes it worse. It increases the surface area of the cooking process, which generates more of the chemicals.
By comparison, the least cooked batch of fries presented with 21 micrograms of acrylamide, while the most well-cooked ones had a whopping 1,052 micrograms. This means the increase is 50 times more from the crispiest chip to the palest. Again, this might strike deep into the preference of most people, who usually save the crispy fries as the last for savoring.
Image source: ravenbrave.com
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