Carcinogens and Food

April 16th, 2008

Yesterday’s post looked at the link between food and cancer through a fairly small window. I don’t really have an opposite view to expound upon, but rather another side of the issue (through another small window). It has long been thought that higher consumption of red meat increases the risk of colo-rectal cancer. Turns out that food cooked the way I like it increases the risk of cancer simply because of the way I like to cook it.

I always cook at high heat. Especially meat. Stir frying is a forgiving art that allows the cook to get away with almost any pick of ingredients. Cut it all up small, put the big stuff in first (go by water content), and cook it as hot as you can. It always comes out good. Same thing for the grill, cook steaks and chicken on high heat and let the center come up to temperature off the grill. The crispy texture is great, and the quickly sealed outer layer keeps in moisture (in beef). The great taste comes from the fond that forms at high heat.

Now studies are concluding that this charred meat, the fond of which we are all so enamored (thought I was gonna say fond?), contains several carcinogenic chemicals. The tumor promoting kind, as the poor lab rats found out. Maybe they were eating grilled red meat up until the tumors. Probably direct injection of the chemicals in question instead, controlled experiments never seem to be in the rats favor.

Having evolved to eat meat, I don’t plan to lay off the stuff or even slow down. I’ve kept meat to less than a fifth of my diet for a couple of years, mostly due to an addiction to various green vegetables if they are prepared right. Wok fried string beans with some XO sauce is probably the best among them. Next time the grill comes out for dinner, throw something new on there. Potatos, eggplant, squash (3 kinds atleast), asparagus, corn and bell peppers all grill up great. So do over a hundred other vegetables. Just put the corn (soaked) and potatoes on early.

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