Chicken Facts

• "Many consumers don’t realize that grilling some food products can produce cancer causing compounds called heterocyclic amines, or HCAs. Which foods contain the highest concentrations of these carcinogens? . . . The results, detailed in a new report titled “The Five Worst Foods to Grill,” are eye-opening. Grilled chicken, wrongly considered a healthful food by some consumers, actually contains the highest concentrations of carcinogenic HCAs. Other meat products, including beef, pork, salmon, and hamburger, also contain alarmingly high HCA levels. . . . In January 2005, the federal government added HCAs to its official list of carcinogens.

  As known mutagens, HCAs can bind directly to DNA, cause mutation, and promote cancer initiation. HCAs are produced during cooking . . . muscle tissues. . . . The longer and hotter the meat is cooked, the more of these compounds form. Grilling meat also produces other mutagens, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are widely believed to play a significant role in human cancers. . . . Grilled vegetables and fruits have no HCAs or negligible amounts, even when cooked over the hottest flames. [5]"

Works Cited

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Posted/Updated: 1/1/07