Acrylamide
Avoid Acrylamide
acrylic amide
C3H5NO
Acrylamide is a known carcinogen. It impairs fertility and causes nerve damage to humans exposed in the workplace. It is a carcinogen, best avoided with PKD and PLD.
Foods High in Acrylamide
These following foods are high in acrylamide:
French fries, potato chips (even baked), hash browns, wheat chips, coffee, cheerios, chocolate, roasted coffee, baby food,
vegetarian burgers breakfast links, corn chips,
fish sticks, cereals, snack foods, pretzels, nuts, cookies, crackers, baking chocolate, cocoa powder and soup mixes.
Acrylamide is
produced by cooking these foods at high-temperature cooking or heating for extended
lengths of time 120C (248 F). With coffee and chocolate
it comes about through the long slow roasting of the beans.
It is formed from high heat cooking (such as baking or roasting) of starches in combination with inherent sugars, especially when items are fried, overcooked, or burned. The compound is created when a sugar and an amino acid called asparagine combine during high-temperature cooking or heating for extended lengths of time 120C (248 F). This means that avoiding frying or otherwise burning or charring foods is an effective way to cut down on acrylamide. A study by the USFDA provided a mechanism for acrylamide formation. It involved heating asparagine in the presence of glucose resulting in the formation of the chemical acrylamide.
Renal Cell Carcinoma
Acrylamide's known cancer producing effects has been studied in regards to renal cell carcinoma. With PKD there is an increased incidence of renal cell carcinoma. This was studied by (3) different researchers three different times around the world. No substantiating evidence was found however to be safe, one with PKD should diminish acrylamide exposure. Avoid eating a hot dog and beer. This greatly increases chances for developing RCC renal cell carcinoma. Eating a combination of pink meats and drinking alcohol, i.e. beer and hot dog, contributes to the development of RCC renal cell carcinoma and liver cancers. Avoid nitrosamines and N-nitrosomorpholine (NNM) and Diphenylthiazole (DPT). Acrylamide could damage DNA, often the first step toward cancer development.
Acrylamide is an organic chemical recently found to occur naturally in certain food products, such as roasted coffee, baby food, vegetarian burgers breakfast links, potato chips (both fried and baked), corn chips, fish sticks, cereals, snack foods, pretzels, nuts, cookies, crackers, baking chocolate, cocoa powder and soup mixes. It has long been used for industrial purposes, in producing polyacrylamide gels, and as a grouting agent in construction. Polyacrylamide is used as a paper making aid, as a soil-conditioning agent, in ore processing, in sewage treatment, and occasionally as an additive for water treatment (FSA, 2002). Acrylamide is also a known component of cigarette smoke.
How is acrylamide formed?
Acrylamide, described by the NCI in CIAA acrylamide toolbox 21st Century Understanding Cancer Toolkit, is known as a chemical usually found in industrial products, as it is used to make polymers, to treat water, and to create food packaging. But when the scientists tested certain foods, to their surprise, they found this chemical. It was found only in foods cooked above 120C (248 F). When the same foods were cooked at lower temperatures, there was no acrylamide in them.
The scientists do not yet fully understand how exactly the chemicals forms, but the current theory is that an amino acid asparagine (found is large quantities in potatoes) forms acrylamide when heated. It is mostly found when the food is fried, baked, and broiled, and less so when it is boiled. It is thought to use the Maillard reaction. Acrylamide is labeled as a major concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). Multiple animal studies have shown carcinogenicity of acrylamide. Rats had increased levels of cancer when exposed to this chemical. California is currently the only state in the U.S. that forces the companies to disclose if their product contains a cancer-causing chemical right on the package and that includes everything that is manufactured. Acrylamide does not come from food packaging or the environment.
Clinical Trials and Studies
Researchers at the Nestlé Center in Switzerland and Britain's University of Reading believe acrylamide compounds are formed in food as the result of something called the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction occurs when asparagine, an amino acid found in certain grains and starches, reacts with sugars under exposure to high heat. A heat cooked above 120C (248 F). Not boiled,
In the Swedish study's wake, the FDA tested the level of acrylamide in more than 275 common foods, such as roasted coffee, baby food, vegetarian burgers and breakfast links, fish sticks, cereals, snack foods, pretzels, nuts, cookies, crackers, baking chocolate, cocoa powder and soup mixes. Several findings from the FDA tests stood out. First, acrylamide was found in a wide range of foods, and the amounts varied from brand to brand. For instance, acrylamide levels in 12 types of frozen French fries ranged from about 3.4 micrograms to 37 micrograms of acrylamide per 6-ounce serving.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that U.S. adults average 0.4 micrograms of dietary acrylamide intake per kilogram of body weight each day. For an adult weighing 150 pounds, this amount translates into approximately 27 micrograms of dietary acrylamide per day.
How to Diminish Acrylamide?
There is a far greater tendency for acrylamide to be formed from the amino acid asparagine than from any other commonly occurring amino acid.
Your highest-risk foods for acrylamide exposure fall into three basic categories:
(1) fried, processed foods like potato chips and french fries. Minimize french fries and potato chips.
(2) baked snack foods containing wheat and sugar, including cookies and crackers.
(3) processed foods involving toasted grains, including toasted wheat cereals, and roasted grain-based coffee substitutes.
(4) toast lightly. Do not eat blackened parts. Avoid eating toast that is burnt.
(5) store potatoes in a cool dark place, blanch before cooking.
(6) choose lighter roast of coffee (if you drink it)
(7) stop smoking (smokers have higher acrylamide)
(8) if allowed take N-Acetyl-Cysteine
Roasted cocoa beans (and the chocolate made from them), some dehydrated soup mixes, and some canned black pitted olives can also
fall into this higher-risk category in terms of acrylamide exposure.
Sweet Potatoes
You can obtain all of the maximum nutrition benefits of sweet potatoes by steaming half-inch cubes in two inches of water for just seven minutes. Adding three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil will help you absorb the carotenoids found in sweet potatoes. You can also add more flavors to your steamed sweet potatoes by adding your desired amount of garlic. You can also mash them if you prefer after you steam your sweet potatoes.
Root Vegetables
Blanch roots briefly in boiling water prior to frying or roasting them. As it turns out, this is exactly the method recommended by the National Cancer Institute to minimize acrylamide production in a food before you cook it!
N-acetylcysteine
The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of N-acetylcysteine against acrylamide toxicity in liver and small and large intestine tissues in rats. The rats were divided into four groups. GSH levels in liver and small intestine tissues reduced significantly in the acrylamide group. It can lower blood pressure,
N-acetylcysteine can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea or constipation. Rarely, it can cause rashes, fever, headache, drowsiness, low blood pressure, and liver problems. When inhaled (breathed into the lungs), it can also cause swelling in the mouth, runny nose, drowsiness, clamminess, and chest tightness. Caution check with your doctor.
Aides Acetaminophen toxicity. Should overdose happen, the recommended treatment is below.
"Oral administration is the preferred route for N-acetylcysteine therapy unless contraindications exist (e.g aspiration, persistent vomiting). The usual recommended loading dose is 140 mg/kg followed in 4 hours by a maintenance dose of 70 mg/kg orally given every 4 hours. This dosing is commonly recommended to be continued for 72 hours; however more recent clinical experience supports tailoring the duration of therapy to the patient's clinical condition."
Aides in liver support. It protects against DNA damage, completely blocked. Prevents constrast-induced kidney damage during procedures,
