I think we’ve all heard things like “don’t eat the burnt part; it causes cancer.” That’s because in 2002, a Swedish study discovered that acrylamide is a naturally occurring chemical that causes cancer in animals from eating foods such as french fries, bread, etc. Acrylamide occurs when amino acid combines with sugar at high temperature. Here are some interesting foods high in acrylamide that you can reduce:
- Fried potatoes have the most acrylamide. Roasted has less, baked even less, and boiled has none.
- Sweet potato chips have more than regular potato chips. Baked has less.
- Veggie chips from dehydrated potatoes have more than regular potato chips.
- Store potatoes in dark, cool places. The cold refrigerator turns the potato starch into sugar.
- Choose thicker fries (acrylamide forms near the surface)
- Don’t toast bread until it’s dark brown. Aim for golden yellow.
- Roasted almonds appear to have higher levels than roasted cashews or peanuts. Raw nuts have none.
- Dark roast coffee actually has less acrylamide than light roast.
- High levels of acrylamide form when prunes are made into juice.
It seems that acrylamide levels in meat, seafood, dairy, and most produce don’t seem to matter as much as the above. As with anything in my office, I believe in moderation and balance. What we do once in a while will never kill us; it’s what we do daily. Learn how to use moderation without guilt and lead you to weight loss.
If you need help understanding nutrition and all the mixed messages out there, give us a call. We will address your stress level, eating habits, exercise, cravings, emotional eating, and overall health and happiness. Start with a free health consultation at www.HappyFoodHealth.com or (619) 876-2655. See if this is the right match for you. I do things very differently to make health a natural lifestyle and this is not for everyone. Check out Yelp for other people’s opinion of Happy Food.
