Fried Carbohydrates Form Carcinogens

An Anonymous Coward writes "Reuters (via Yahoo) is reporting that a Swedish team has found that cooking certain high-carbohydrate foods creates acrylamide (which is a suspected human carcinogen). The scientists felt this was so important that they have foregone publishing in favor of taking this public immediately. Potato chip stocks are taking nosedives in Scandanavia."

Comments

Acrylamide - main use : water treatment.

[freuddot]

Acrylamide

Acrylamide is an organic solid of white, odorless, flake-like crystals. The greatest use of acrylamide is as a coagulant aid in drinking water treatment. Other uses of include: to improve production from oil wells; in making organic chemicals and dyes; in the sizing of paper and textiles; in ore processing; in the construction of dam foundations and tunnels.

So, simply put : don't panic, you are getting it anyway. ;-)

Re:Acrylamide - main use : water treatment.

[beme]

Hold up there, cowboy. Reading that epa page a bit further down, it clearly states that the Maximum Contaminant Level goal (MCL) is set at zero. 'Course, that's an 'unenforcable' limit. The enforcable limit is mentioned here:
"The regulation for acrylamide became effective in 1992. EPA requires your water supplier to show that when acrylamide is added to water, the amount of uncoagulated acrylamide is less than 0.5 ppb."

Here's the stink about why it gets into your drinking water in the first place:
"The main source of concern for acrylamide in drinking water is from its use as a clarifier during water treatment. When added to water, it coagulates and traps suspended solids for easier removal. However, some acrylamide does not coagulate and remains in the water as a contaminant. Improvements in the production and use of acrylamide have made it possible to control this contamination to acceptable levels. "

And the health effects:
"Short-term: EPA has found acrylamide to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL for relatively short periods of time: damage to the nervous system, weakness and incoordination in the legs.

Long-term: Acrylamide has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: damage to the nervous system, paralysis; cancer."

Nice stuff. If you're getting a lot of it, you should be concerned.

Re:Right on.

[JabberWokky]

Actually the "eat truckloads of meat" diet (well, the real version, which encourages vegetables, and only discourages carbohydrates) has had studies done on it since the 1970s, and, while it may or may not be the healthiest thing (neither is being overweight), it does work, and when done right, is safe (the one oft quoted study contradicting that involved a study group of five people). It just suddenly got popular recently and a bunch of opportunists wrote what appear to be badly written books, and doctors freaked because normally ketosis is a symptom of very bad health problems - that your body is using its own tissues for energy. The idea for dietary, balanced ketosis (where the body substitutes internal stores for carbohydrates) is still a new one to the majority of the medical profession.

--
Evan

Re:hoo haw

[spike hay]

foregone publishing in favor of taking this public immediately.

Of course still by far the biggest danger of eating crap like fries is the cholesterol and fat. Everyone knows that fries aren't the greatest for your health. It shouldn't take a carcinogen scare story like this one keep people from eating too much unhealthy food.

I also would like to point out that we eat all sorts of carcinogens. There are so many carcinogens out there that I don't worry about it when they discover a new one.

Here are a few:
1. Comfrey
2. Sassafras (in higher-quality root beer)
3. Some meat preservative. Forgot what it's called.
4. The sun. Probably the biggest carcinogen of all.
5. Numerous body compounds
6. Burned meat
7. Benzene
8. Cadmium
9. Carbon Black
10. Formaldehyde
11. Gasoline
12. Nickel
13. Quartz
14. Radon
15. Mineral Oil
16. Urethane
17. Wood Dust.

Just about everything is carcinogenic. I, personally, don't worry about it. I can't isolate myself from all of these carcinogens anyway. A more complete list is available here.

I just hope this doesn't lead to tobacco-industry style class action lawsuits.

I hate people like that. For example, I am no fan of big tobacco, but if you smoke, it is your fault! Everyone has known for years that tobacco is harmful and addictive. The tobacco companies shouldn't be sued for your idiotic actions. I just think tobacco should be taxed even more heavily. Anyway, im drifting offtopic.