Avoid ALL these foods? Ouch !! Part II
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Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Tuesday, 9-26-2006
Avoid ALL these foods? Ouch !! Part II
In Early to Rise recently, health writer Jon Herring, listed the foods that a Food and Drug Administration research report, released this past summer, on which common foods contain a carcinogenic chemical, acrylamide.
Acrylamide is apparently formed when a food containing carbohydrate is heated by baking, frying, toasting, or roasting.
It’s beginning to be clear that the foods that enhance health best are vegetables, fruits, health-safe protein foods, & health-enhancing fats & oils. And, it’s beginning to be clear that it’s best to eat low glycemic index foods for at least 90 to 95 percent of your diet, which these foods virtually all are.
So, Jon is quite right in saying that many of the high temperature cooked carbohydrate foods are best left uneaten anyway. So, in some ways, it’s a good thing to have an added reason not to eat them.
But, there are quite a number of such foods, & it’s hard to never eat any of them.
I’ve grouped them a bit as it makes it easier to understand & manage.
(We covered the snack foods & desserts listed in our last post.)
3. Breakfast Cereals & Brewed Coffee
Most of the packaged breakfast cereals that are toasted in making them -- like Corn Flakes & Cheerios, etc -- are quite high in glycemic index anyway; & some even have added sugar. So, they are at most a few times a year treat for someone trying to eat right.
But, it is too bad that cereals like shredded wheat & Grape Nuts are also toasted. If you like those, I think the best strategy is just to eat them much less often than you otherwise would.
The only good news is that many whole grain cereals like Oatmeal are unheated when you buy them; & then are cooked by boiling them in water -- which is apparently enough of a lower temperature to avoid this problem. And, these cereals are your best choice for health anyway.)
Brewed coffee is a special case.
(It took me a while to realize how coffee fits here. And then, I realized that the toasting is done to the coffee beans before they are ground. So, the preparation that’s done by brewing them is done after the toasting has already been done in the coffee bean processing stage.)
Of the foods listed here, coffee is the one that probably is most worth keeping anyway.
It’s the number one source of antioxidants in the diet of many people. In the amounts that best fit each person who drinks coffee, it definitely improves mood, feeling sharp & clear-headed, & actual mental performance.
It’s not as well known as it should be, but there is a point in coffee consumption where you drink enough that it keeps you from sleeping well the following night. And then you need the extra coffee the next day to compensate.
So, it’s best to keep your consumption to four cups a day or less & to drink all or most of it in the morning or perhaps early afternoon.
That way you get enough to be at your best & not overdo the consumption of this newly recognized hazard along with your coffee.
The other strategy is to drink only one cup of coffee first thing in the morning & then drink tea. And black tea & green tea have more antioxidants than coffee.
Or, you can simply drink tea only. If you have acid reflux or don’t process caffeine well you may have to do that anyway.
But most people who like to be mentally sharp & have used coffee will want to keep drinking it.
My take is that they should -- but in light of this newly discovered hazard, they should stop at four cups a day & perhaps drink a bit less.
And it would also be wise for them to follow other cancer preventing steps like eating cruciferous vegetables, avoiding cigarette smoke, & taking supplements believed to reduce the incidence of cancer like selenium & vitamin D.
(Both of these two can be harmful in super large doses; but there is some evidence that taking the minimum optimum daily amount as a supplement each day does cut your chances of developing cancer. 200 micrograms of selenium daily is likely safe; but taking more than that daily may not be.
Between your multivitamin & a separate supplement of vitamin D3, new information suggests that 800 to 1600 iu a day may be wise to take, particularly during the winter months climate wise as you get so much less sun-triggered vitamin D then.
But amounts over 2400 to 8,000 may not be safe. Exactly where in this range the line should be drawn is a bit controversial now. But if you want to take more than 1600, you should likely be doing it with your doctor’s input & possibly some blood tests of your vitamin D level to see if you really need more.)
4. Toast & Soft Bread
As we’ve covered in other posts, people who virtually always eat whole grain foods & never eat refined grain foods have better health. And, because whole grain bread has more fiber you tend to eat less of it anyway.
Also, whole grain bread doesn’t toast as well as refined flour white bread.
Three solutions occur to me. Get most of your whole grains as cereal cooked in boiling water & that is never toasted. Buy & eat only whole grain bread; & usually eat it untoasted. And, heat it for melting butter, on the days you want to indulge, in the warming oven at 250 or 300 degrees instead of toasting it – or, toast it only to lightly done & then put in the warming oven so you get to eat while it’s still hot.
5. Pizza; Burritos/Tostadas; & Breaded Chicken (& Baked Potatoes)
Baked potatoes weren’t on this list; but I’ve read separately that they do have acrylamide in them.
And, potatoes are quite high in glycemic index also. So, eat them very rarely if at all.
I have three strategies for these foods. (I like these foods myself. And, I think most people do.)
If you like them, just eat them a good bit less often. Try once a week to once a month instead of several times a week, for example.
Eat a slightly smaller serving & eat a cancer fighting vegetable dish, like coleslaw at the same meal.
Or, eat the ingredients without the part that has the flour & carbohydrates. Eat skinless chicken instead of breaded most of the time. Leave most of the pizza crust. Or fix all your favorite ingredients for a Burrito or Tostada without the wrapping at all & just enjoy the stuffing that you like.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Tuesday, 9-26-2006
Avoid ALL these foods? Ouch !! Part II
In Early to Rise recently, health writer Jon Herring, listed the foods that a Food and Drug Administration research report, released this past summer, on which common foods contain a carcinogenic chemical, acrylamide.
Acrylamide is apparently formed when a food containing carbohydrate is heated by baking, frying, toasting, or roasting.
It’s beginning to be clear that the foods that enhance health best are vegetables, fruits, health-safe protein foods, & health-enhancing fats & oils. And, it’s beginning to be clear that it’s best to eat low glycemic index foods for at least 90 to 95 percent of your diet, which these foods virtually all are.
So, Jon is quite right in saying that many of the high temperature cooked carbohydrate foods are best left uneaten anyway. So, in some ways, it’s a good thing to have an added reason not to eat them.
But, there are quite a number of such foods, & it’s hard to never eat any of them.
I’ve grouped them a bit as it makes it easier to understand & manage.
(We covered the snack foods & desserts listed in our last post.)
3. Breakfast Cereals & Brewed Coffee
Most of the packaged breakfast cereals that are toasted in making them -- like Corn Flakes & Cheerios, etc -- are quite high in glycemic index anyway; & some even have added sugar. So, they are at most a few times a year treat for someone trying to eat right.
But, it is too bad that cereals like shredded wheat & Grape Nuts are also toasted. If you like those, I think the best strategy is just to eat them much less often than you otherwise would.
The only good news is that many whole grain cereals like Oatmeal are unheated when you buy them; & then are cooked by boiling them in water -- which is apparently enough of a lower temperature to avoid this problem. And, these cereals are your best choice for health anyway.)
Brewed coffee is a special case.
(It took me a while to realize how coffee fits here. And then, I realized that the toasting is done to the coffee beans before they are ground. So, the preparation that’s done by brewing them is done after the toasting has already been done in the coffee bean processing stage.)
Of the foods listed here, coffee is the one that probably is most worth keeping anyway.
It’s the number one source of antioxidants in the diet of many people. In the amounts that best fit each person who drinks coffee, it definitely improves mood, feeling sharp & clear-headed, & actual mental performance.
It’s not as well known as it should be, but there is a point in coffee consumption where you drink enough that it keeps you from sleeping well the following night. And then you need the extra coffee the next day to compensate.
So, it’s best to keep your consumption to four cups a day or less & to drink all or most of it in the morning or perhaps early afternoon.
That way you get enough to be at your best & not overdo the consumption of this newly recognized hazard along with your coffee.
The other strategy is to drink only one cup of coffee first thing in the morning & then drink tea. And black tea & green tea have more antioxidants than coffee.
Or, you can simply drink tea only. If you have acid reflux or don’t process caffeine well you may have to do that anyway.
But most people who like to be mentally sharp & have used coffee will want to keep drinking it.
My take is that they should -- but in light of this newly discovered hazard, they should stop at four cups a day & perhaps drink a bit less.
And it would also be wise for them to follow other cancer preventing steps like eating cruciferous vegetables, avoiding cigarette smoke, & taking supplements believed to reduce the incidence of cancer like selenium & vitamin D.
(Both of these two can be harmful in super large doses; but there is some evidence that taking the minimum optimum daily amount as a supplement each day does cut your chances of developing cancer. 200 micrograms of selenium daily is likely safe; but taking more than that daily may not be.
Between your multivitamin & a separate supplement of vitamin D3, new information suggests that 800 to 1600 iu a day may be wise to take, particularly during the winter months climate wise as you get so much less sun-triggered vitamin D then.
But amounts over 2400 to 8,000 may not be safe. Exactly where in this range the line should be drawn is a bit controversial now. But if you want to take more than 1600, you should likely be doing it with your doctor’s input & possibly some blood tests of your vitamin D level to see if you really need more.)
4. Toast & Soft Bread
As we’ve covered in other posts, people who virtually always eat whole grain foods & never eat refined grain foods have better health. And, because whole grain bread has more fiber you tend to eat less of it anyway.
Also, whole grain bread doesn’t toast as well as refined flour white bread.
Three solutions occur to me. Get most of your whole grains as cereal cooked in boiling water & that is never toasted. Buy & eat only whole grain bread; & usually eat it untoasted. And, heat it for melting butter, on the days you want to indulge, in the warming oven at 250 or 300 degrees instead of toasting it – or, toast it only to lightly done & then put in the warming oven so you get to eat while it’s still hot.
5. Pizza; Burritos/Tostadas; & Breaded Chicken (& Baked Potatoes)
Baked potatoes weren’t on this list; but I’ve read separately that they do have acrylamide in them.
And, potatoes are quite high in glycemic index also. So, eat them very rarely if at all.
I have three strategies for these foods. (I like these foods myself. And, I think most people do.)
If you like them, just eat them a good bit less often. Try once a week to once a month instead of several times a week, for example.
Eat a slightly smaller serving & eat a cancer fighting vegetable dish, like coleslaw at the same meal.
Or, eat the ingredients without the part that has the flour & carbohydrates. Eat skinless chicken instead of breaded most of the time. Leave most of the pizza crust. Or fix all your favorite ingredients for a Burrito or Tostada without the wrapping at all & just enjoy the stuffing that you like.
posted by David at 1:10 PM
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