Every day we absorb innumerable microscopic chemical substances: pesticide residues, food additives, air and water pollutants… Among these chemical substances, some are mutagenic or carcinogenic. It is in our best interest to minimize our exposure to toxic substances, starting in the kitchen.

NITRATES, NITRITES, & NITROSAMINES

Nitrates are present everywhere in nature. They form naturally, particularly in the soil, where they end up as the principal source of nitrogen in plants (it’s normal for vegetables to contain small quantities). Nitrates also occur naturally in the body, and are essential for digestion.

Nitrites, on the other hand, are the synthetic versions of nitrates.  Nitrites are considered more toxic because they combine readily with amines (a compound derived from ammonia) to create carcinogenic chemicals called nitrosamines.

One can find amines in a number of things like medications and cosmetics. But amines are also in popular foods: preserved meat, fish, some cheeses… This wouldn’t be so bad, were it not for the number of nitrates and nitritates added to these foods to preserve them against micro-organisms in order to “protect” you from food poisoning (but isn’t that what it is!).

Amines + Nitrates/Nitrites = carcinogenic nitrosamines

Nitrites have the potential for nitrosamines, but it isn’t just meat and cheese who are the culprits. The vegetables richest in nitrates (though they contain very few) can form more nitrites with the help of micro-organisms, in the absence of oxygen, provided that the temperature is sufficient.

For example, at harvest, a crate of well-packed spinach, left out in the heat, is a great way to produce more nitrites (much like forgotten, non-refrigerated spinach soup). In the same manner, vegetables packed in plastic bags and left in a warm place (such as on a sunny counter top) will also favor the formation of nitrites.¹

When you eat a hot dog, bacon, fish, cheese or any other form of preserved meat/dairy (high in amines), think about the nitrites that turn into nitrosamines, which light a bright arrow pointing to cancer. No one deomstrates the powerful link between cancer and nitrites better than Colin T. Campbell in The China Study.

But what about your spinach soup left out on the stove! Remember, amines need to be present to transform nitrites into carcinogens, and that spinach is also rich in substances like polyphenols to block the potentially lethal transformation.

BENZOPYRENE AND OTHER HYDROCARBONS

These compounds result from the breakdown, through heat, of certain constituents in food. When the temperature of a food rich in protein—practially speaking, meat and fish—passes 356 degrees Farenheit (how hot is your oven?), mutagenic and carcinogenic substances can form: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzopyrene, and hetereocyclic amines.

These are big fancy words to describe something simple: carcinogenic.

When you burn your meat, deep fry your fish, roast at too high a temperature, or otherwise subject your protein-rich food to extreme temperatures, you are creating toxic substances. If you grill your meat,you actually have a two-fold threat: fat that drops through the grill will burn and smoke, provoking the synthesis of benzopyrene and other hydrocarbons, which, through the smoke, will rise back up and pass through your food.

The worst thing you can eat is a grilled hot dog, subjected to high temperatures, dripping fat on the coals, and packed with nitrites and amines.

Considering the potetial for creating carcinogenic substances in our food, how much of these substances do we really eat? How great is the contribution? According to Claude Aubert, food, ecology, and agro-industrial expert, American researchers concluded that, through cooked foods, the average person ingests enough carcinogenic and mutagenic substances to equate smoking 5 cigarettes a day.²

GLYCOTOXINS

Cooking certain foods at a temperature high enough to provoke burning on the surface, such as the crust of bread or browning of casseroles, results in a chemical reaction between sugars and proteins, called the Maillard reaction. This reaction, as long as it isn’t too severe, gives foods a highly appreciated flavor. But this phenomenon also produces advanced glycation endproducts, which may potentially cause health problems.

AGE’s have been associated with premature aging, diabetes, alzheimer’s, stroke, reduced muscle funtion, and cardiovascular disease.³

ACRYLAMIDE

Acryladmide is a carginogenic substance that forms naturally from cooking foods rich in amidon, at high temperatures, especially for prolonged periods of time. Among our favorites, potato chips are actually far from containing high levels of acrylamide, despite the high temperatures of frying, given their relatively brief frying times. Still, one can succeed in creating acrylamide by accidentally burning their french fries or other pan-fried potato dishes (hash browns, homefries). Along with potatoes, other foods to watch out for are grilled sandwhiches, crackers, and corn chips.

CARCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES IN SMOKING OILS

The smoke of oils that results from burning them are undoubtable cocktails of carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds. Among them: acrolein, benzene, benzopyrene, formaldehyde, and about forty others. This phenomenon has been well studied in China, Taiwan, and in Hong Kong, where the rates of lung cancer are significantly high among non-smoking women. These women work in restaurants in which cooking with woks is a daily practice. Rates are markedly lower for women working in well-ventilated conditions.

In light of this, should frying always be avoided? Not neccessarily. The take-home lesson is to always avoid letting the oil smoke, be it in a wok, a frying pan, or a deep fryer.

As a general rule, vegetable oils (poly-unsaturated fats) should never be used for frying, as they are not stable under heat and will putrify. Most vegetable oils used in restaurants and sold in super markets are of abonimably poor quality and should never be consumed; consider them toxic. Any vegetable oil you purchase should be of high quality and respectfully extracted; these oils are found in small dark bottles, usually in a fridge in your local health food store. They should never be used for cooking, should be stored in a cool, dark place (your fridge!), and should be consumed within 1 or 2 weeks after opening.⁴

Olive oil is an exception to this rule. Though there exist many de-natured, poor quality types of olive oil, you can generally trust the bottles labeled “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” found in your super market. Olive oil, a mono-unsaturated fat, and relatively stable under heat (compared to other vegetable oils). It is never a bad idea to add a little water to the frying pan, to keep the oil’s temperature lower.

For frying, coconut oil and animal fats (butter, lard) are the best choices, being saturated fats and stable under heat. Avoid burning. People were cooking with animal fats long before they learned the delicate process of extracting oils.

In summary:

1. Avoid all preserved meats and other products containing added nitrites.

2. Avoid cooking your meat above temperatures of 350 degress, and save grilling for special occasions.

3. Avoid superficial burning on all foods.

4. Never oil your cooking fats and oils to smoke.

5. Do not cook, fry, or bake with vegetable oils.

>>>>>>