What is Acrylamide and How to Protect Yourself from It.

According to the World Health Organization and the Australia Food and Agriculture Organization, the chemical called Acrylamide can cause cancer.

You may be surprised at just how prevalent it is. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration recently published its latest research on the acrylamide content of common foods.

Here are those that topped the list:

• French Fries (made in restaurants)
• French Fries (oven baked)
• Potato Chips
• Breakfast Cereals
• Cookies
• Brewed Coffee
• Toast
• Pies and Cakes
• Crackers
• Soft Bread
• Chile con Carne
  
• Corn Snacks
• Popcorn
• Pretzels
• Pizza
• Burrito/Tostada
• Peanut Butter
• Breaded Chicken
• Bagels
• Soup Mix

 
How to Avoid Acrylamide ?

Thanks to a higher awareness of this concern, more and more farmers and food manufacturers are working to make their products with lower amounts of this chemical. However, there are also things you can do at home in order to lower your Acrylamide intake.

These things include:

• Fry potatoes only at 175 degrees Celsius (In my humble opinion avoid frying altogether!)
• Bake potatoes at 230 degrees Celsius or less .. my favourite oven temperature is 180C
• Soak vegetables in cold water before frying them
• Only lightly toast bread
• Content in the coffee cannot really be reduced, so if you are concerned about Acrylamide, consider cutting out coffee completely and drink lots of herbal teas.
  

Acrylamide can form when foods are fried or toasted to darker levels. By frying, baking, and toasting only lightly, you can lower the amount of the chemical found in the foods that you eat.

If you bake your own bread, add some rosemary to dough prior to baking -- just 1 teaspoon can reduce acrylamide by up to 60% ! The power of herbs are incredible and that is why I keep on stressing to my clients to drink gallons of herbal teas because the benefits are priceless !

If you want to avoid acrylamide altogether in your potatoes, steam or boil them. These cooking methods result in little or no acrylamide because the water keeps the temperature below the 250 degrees needed for an acrylamide reaction. As a general rule: Cook slower and at lower temperatures.
 
You may also want to include cancer-fighting foods in your diet. While researchers aren’t aware of any food that gets rid of acrylamide in your body, cruciferous vegetables are known cancer-fighters. Stock up on cancer preventative foods such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, green tea, moringa, berries, garlic, ginger, turmeric and drink herbal teas such as rosemary and tulsi.