Online Health Insurance News

No matter where you turn there is research coming out indicating that the foods we eat are slowly killing us.  Cancer is on the rise and much of the latest research on cancer points to a link between cancer and the foods that we eat.  We have come a long way since old farmer Brown raised his own crops and livestock and boasted a clean healthy living style.  Actually, with the dusting of pesticides upon the crops to keep the insects away, we consumers are ingesting these toxins as well as the bugs and even farmer Brown’s crops are not as healthy for us as they once were.  How healthy is our food and if our food is not healthy how then can we as a society remain healthy?

The issue of acrylamides in certain foods made media coverage in 2008.  Science Daily reported a Danish study linking acrylamides and breast cancer (Henrik Frandsen, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark.)

Here in America, consumer groups are backing up the claim that acrylamides cause breast cancer in women and government bodies are still doing research to find out if there is a health hazard.  In the meantime we continue to eat the foods in blind faith not knowing if we are causing our own demise.

Acrylamides are a chemical component used in polyacrylamide gels such as grouting agents, papermaking, soil conditioners, glues, cosmetics, and ore processing. It has been added as a water treatment for drinking water and water waste disposal. Acrylamides are also found in cigarette smoke.  More recently it has been discovered that this chemical is naturally found in certain foods.

When a certain amino acid called asparagine mixes with sugars in foods then heated we get the cancer causing acrylamides. The deadly chemical requires high heat temperatures of at least 120°C or 248°F, If these high temperatures are present it really does not make a difference as to how the food was cooked, meaning it could be fried, baked, broiled, grilled, roasted, and toasted etc.

John Levitt, the director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the Food and Drug Administration states that acrylamides are a natural by product of cooking foods.  When we examine that statement we as consumer must ask, what are we supposed do, stop heating up our foods and start eating our foods raw?  We also have research pointing in the direction that raw foods are not good for our health either. If our foods are undercooked there is the treat of salmonella, and other toxins to worry about.

The good thing in this potential health crisis is that acrylamides are not found in raw foods, boiled foods with a high carbohydrate content, meat, fish or poultry or even baby formula.

Ah we sigh with relief so what is the big deal anyhow?

The big deal is that acrylamides are found in the foods that Americans love best.  The foods with the highest concentrations of acrylamides include foods rich in carbohydrates such french fries, potato chips, toast, bread, cookies, cereal, and even brewed coffee. Americans are hooked on fast foods such as french fries and chunk food such as potato chips.  Children especially are reared on cereal and toast, and what child does not like a cookie?  Much media coverage has warned against fast foods and how unhealthy it is for us, yet fast foods outlets are jammed packed even in an economic recession. Many mothers want to know what else to feed their children for breakfast if cereal and toast is eliminated.  The way Americans eat is indeed a cause for alarm, and a crisis in the making.

What do we know about the risks of Acrylamides from the studies so far?

We know that they cause cancer in lab rats.  Though the cross over from rats to humans is not always a sure thing it is certainly a cause for alarm.  Studies have also shown that it is toxic to the human and animal nervous system. In an age when cancer is rampant and there are so many correlations between cancer and the environment, we cannot take anything lightly.  We must continue to study the risks of cancer and acrylamides.

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the threat from acrylamides and cancer strong enough to warrant alarm and urges more study to valid the threat.  The food industry also is concerned about the possible threat of cancer.  Proctor and Gamble researchers had found the link between asparagines and the formation of the acrylamides compound. Frito Lay and other companies are reducing their levels of acrylamides within their food products. The Germans are reducing their temperatures for heating their foods, but not everyone in the food industry is on board.

The frozen food industry maintains that there is not enough evidence to date to make any conclusions at this time. Yet, if not all food producers come on board, and the risk is determined, there will be wide scale litigation and insurance rates will continue to rise as the cancer rates in individuals continue to increase.

The Center for Science and Public Interest urges the FDA to set appropriate levels for acrylamides in foods but so far that has not been done. Other recommendations would be to provide label warnings on packages and offer an acceptable daily allotment for foods containing high levels of acrylamides.