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A Chemical In Coffee, Fries, and Baby Food Linked to Cancer, Report Says

8 points by givan 12y ago

spingsprong 12y ago
It's not surprising. Life is water with a bunch of chemicals floating about in it. If you raise it to high temperature, those chemicals break apart or combine together to form new chemicals, some of which are harmful. Smoked meat, burnt toast, burnt tobacco, whatever, they've all have been linked to health problems. It's the same principle.
- goldenkey 12y ago
  Exactly. This is part of the reason it's easy to say cigarettes are harmful because of chemicals x y and z. Nicotine is not so bad, and neither is tobacco. However, when burning anything, a random variable is created where chemical instability correlates to probability of creation correlates to cancer risk. So you get a spectrum of chemicals, badder ones less often. But consume enough and probability will play out, and the laws of odds will cancer you up.
unfunco 12y ago
Given enough time, everything eventually causes cancer. And every-time I see a new article describing something that I like being linked to cancer I try to ignore it, otherwise I'll spend more time researching what not to consume than I will actually living. The Daily Mail here in the United Kingdom are perhaps the worst for these sort of articles. Here's a log: http://kill-or-cure.herokuapp.com/ http://kill-or-cure.herokuapp.com/
IvyMike 12y ago
"The research isn't conclusive." "studies involving people have produced “limited and inconsistent evidence” when it comes to the ties between acrylamide and cancer" "Binaglia says that, for now, it’s not possible for him or other health scientists to make diet recommendations." "“A lot of questions cannot be answered right now,” Ramos adds. Similarly, the American Cancer Society (ACS) says that, based on available research, “It is not yet clear if acrylamide affects cancer risk in people.”" Rock solid. I expect to see this referenced on my Facebook feed a thousand times in the next year. "Is Your Morning Cup Of Coffee Killing You? Click Here To Find Out."
- switch007 12y ago
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-115696/How-safe-favourite-foods.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-115696/How-safe-fa... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2311934/Cancer-risk-chemical-KFC-fries-crisps-cereal.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2311934/Cancer-ris... ;)
detritus 12y ago
Research implicating acrylamides as a cause of cancer has been kicking around for years - but what I've never seen addressed in research is the distinction between humankind's meta-evolutionary pathway whereby we've deployed fire to predigest our food for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. Given the fairly distinct change this has had on our digestive tract in terms of its dimension (it's relatively small given our energy requirements) to me it's not inconceivable that we might've also evolved a certain tolerance to acrylamides too? Just a thought - it seems to me this sort of research is one wherein the reliance upon rats as test subjects is more questionable than usual...

8 points by givan 12y ago

It's not surprising. Life is water with a bunch of chemicals floating about in it. If you raise it to high temperature, those chemicals break apart or combine together to form new chemicals, some of which are harmful. Smoked meat, burnt toast, burnt tobacco, whatever, they've all have been linked to health problems. It's the same principle.

goldenkey 12y ago
Exactly. This is part of the reason it's easy to say cigarettes are harmful because of chemicals x y and z. Nicotine is not so bad, and neither is tobacco. However, when burning anything, a random variable is created where chemical instability correlates to probability of creation correlates to cancer risk. So you get a spectrum of chemicals, badder ones less often. But consume enough and probability will play out, and the laws of odds will cancer you up.

unfunco 12y ago

Given enough time, everything eventually causes cancer. And every-time I see a new article describing something that I like being linked to cancer I try to ignore it, otherwise I'll spend more time researching what not to consume than I will actually living. The Daily Mail here in the United Kingdom are perhaps the worst for these sort of articles. Here's a log: http://kill-or-cure.herokuapp.com/ http://kill-or-cure.herokuapp.com/

IvyMike 12y ago

"The research isn't conclusive." "studies involving people have produced “limited and inconsistent evidence” when it comes to the ties between acrylamide and cancer" "Binaglia says that, for now, it’s not possible for him or other health scientists to make diet recommendations." "“A lot of questions cannot be answered right now,” Ramos adds. Similarly, the American Cancer Society (ACS) says that, based on available research, “It is not yet clear if acrylamide affects cancer risk in people.”" Rock solid. I expect to see this referenced on my Facebook feed a thousand times in the next year. "Is Your Morning Cup Of Coffee Killing You? Click Here To Find Out."

switch007 12y ago
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-115696/How-safe-favourite-foods.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-115696/How-safe-fa... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2311934/Cancer-risk-chemical-KFC-fries-crisps-cereal.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2311934/Cancer-ris... ;)

detritus 12y ago

Research implicating acrylamides as a cause of cancer has been kicking around for years - but what I've never seen addressed in research is the distinction between humankind's meta-evolutionary pathway whereby we've deployed fire to predigest our food for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. Given the fairly distinct change this has had on our digestive tract in terms of its dimension (it's relatively small given our energy requirements) to me it's not inconceivable that we might've also evolved a certain tolerance to acrylamides too? Just a thought - it seems to me this sort of research is one wherein the reliance upon rats as test subjects is more questionable than usual...