Jim McAfee's Blog Spot

Thursday, May 28, 2015

The Danger of Overcooked Foods

     When high carbohydrate foods are browned or blackened a substance called acrylamide is formed. Very high levels of this substances are found in potato chips, french fries, many commercial breakfast cereals, bread crust, toast, and roasted coffee beans. The federal government limits the amount of acrylamide in drinking water to 0.5 parts per billion. Unfortunately, a six-ounce serving of French fries provides about 500 times the allowable limit of acrylamide. Acrylamide is a suspected carcinogen.
     It is always best to try and avoid overheated foods. For example, oatmeal, cream of wheat, or muesli would be free of acrylamide since they are not overly heated.

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