Acrylamide: The Food Toxin that could Cause Cancer

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Acrylamide: The Food Toxin that could Cause Cancer JoAnn Guest Mar 21, 2005

14:19 PST

http://hfn-usa.com/articles/020918acrylamide.html

 

Acrylamide is a well-established carcinogen and neurotoxin (causes nerve

damage). According to Lois Gold, director of the Carcinogenic Potency

Project at the University of California, Berkeley, " You get more

acrylamide from smoking than you do from food. "

 

But based on a newly released Swedish report that indicates acrylamide

is a by-product of fried foods, there is definite room for concern-not

panic.

 

The study was based on the original findings that adduct levels

(products of acrylamide that react with blood hemoglobin) were found in

people who hadn't been exposed to it. Because the amount is considered a

cancer risk, it was deemed important to identify acrylamide's origin. A

scientific group at the University of Stockholm, headed by Professor

Margareta Törnqvist, found that acrylamide is formed during the heating

of starch-rich foods to high temperatures.1

 

The same thing was shown in a previous Swedish study, done two years

ago, in which rats were fed fried animal feed for one or two months.2

 

What's your risk? The bad news is, the typical American diet contains

rather large amounts of acrylamide, and it's even more prevalent in

diets that contain a lot of fried foods.

 

The good news is that diets low in fried starchy foods contain very low

levels of acrylamide. Also, the amount of acrylamide needed to cause

cancer in humans is still unknown.

 

What foods contain acrylamide? Acrylamide is probably formed in many

types of food, many of which have not yet been analyzed. But among the

foods that have been analyzed, potato chips and French fries generally

contained the highest levels. The average content in potato chips is

approximately 1000 micrograms/kg and in French fries approximately 500

micrograms/kg. Other food groups which may contain low as well as high

levels of acrylamide are fried bread products-such as

doughnuts-breakfast cereals, fried potato products, biscuits, cookies

and snacks, such as tortilla chips and popcorn.3

 

Foods that are not fried, deep fried or oven-baked during production or

preparation are not considered to contain any appreciable levels of

acrylamide. No levels could be detected in any of the raw foodstuffs or

foods cooked by boiling, including potatoes, rice, pasta, and flour.3

 

How much acrylamide do you ingest on a daily basis? The Swedish National

Food Administration's 1997-98 survey3 of 1200 individuals, aged 17 to

70, found that an average intake of approximately 25 micrograms per day

(maximum intake is approximately six times higher) of acrylamide is

obtained, based on the food groups shown below. The remaining food

groups are estimated to account for approximately 10-15 micrograms of

acrylamide; in total an average intake of 35-40 micrograms. The

percentage contribution based on an intake of 40 micrograms acrylamide

per day results in:

 

potato products: 36 % (French fries 16 %, fried potatoes 10 %, potato

chips 10 %)

 

bread: 16 %

 

biscuits, cookies and wafers: 5 %

 

breakfast cereals: 3 %

 

remaining foodstuffs groups, basically not investigated yet: 40 %

 

What does that mean?

 

It's still too soon to know exactly how much acrylamide is considered

dangerous to humans.

 

What can you do to counteract the bad effects of acrylamide? If you have

a lot of will power, the best thing, of course, is to eat NO fried foods

at all. The Swedish National Food Administration advises people to stop

smoking, and to avoid burning food during frying, deep-frying, broiling

and grilling, and to especially not eat burned food, period!3

 

Have your cake and eat it, too. If you must have your fries and chips,

and want to counteract the bad effects of acrylamide, there are a couple

of nutritional supplements that are believed to offer protection against

acrylamide's toxicity.

 

N-acetyl-cysteine and lipoic acid have been shown to be protective

against acrylamides toxicity and offer a dietary means of counteracting

acrylamide's bad effects. Please click below to read more about lipoic

acid.

 

One study showed that rats and mice that were given acrylamide over a

period of seven days developed tumors. When they were also treated with

N-acetyl- L-cysteine, the incidence of tumors was inhibited.4

 

Another study showed that acrylamide's neurotoxicity was due to a

dramatic reduction in glucose metabolism in nerve cells, and that lipoic

acid could help prevent this negative effect and help restore normal

metabolism and prevent damage.5

 

Is acrylamide risk new?

 

Probably not, according to the Swedish National Food Administration. " We

have probably been exposed to acrylamide in food for generations. " Other

sources than foodstuffs (estimated average intake of 35-40

microgram/day), e.g. cosmetics, drinking water, and a possible

endogenous formation in the body of acrylamide, could, to a lower

extent, contribute to a background level. " The new, emerging knowledge

may make it possible to reduce the risks that we have so far accepted.

This is a very positive development. " 6

 

In the meantime, eat lots of fruits and veggies, and protect yourself

with a good antioxidant. And it wouldn't hurt if you limit the amount of

fried foods in your diet, as they contain both acrylamide and other

damaging chemicals formed by the heating and oxidation of oil

 

Click on " Anti-Aging Breakthrough " to read more about lipoic acid

 

References:

 

1. Tareke E, Rydberg P, Karlsson P, Eriksson S, Tornqvist M. Analysis of

acrylamide, a carcinogen formed in heated foodstuffs. J Agric Food Chem,

2002 Aug 14;50(17):4998-5006.

2. Tareke E, Rydberg P, Karlsson P, Eriksson S, Tornqvist M. Acrylamide:

a cooking carcinogen? Chem Res Toxicol 2000 Jun;13(6):517-22

3. www.slv.se

4. Park J, Kamendulis LM, Friedman MA, Klaunig JE Acrylamide-induced

cellular transformation. Toxicol Sci 2002 Feb;65(2):177-83

5. Anuradha B, Varalakshmi P. Activities of glucose-metabolizing enzymes

in experimental neurotoxic models with lipoate as an alleviator. J Appl

Toxicol 1999 Nov-Dec;19(6):405-9

6. www.slv.se

 

 

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