It is now known that high temperature cooking can produce carcinogens (cancer causing agents) in food. Cooking meats at high temperatures creates heterocyclic amines (HCAs.) Heterocyclic amines are formed when amino acids, the building blocks of protein, react with creatine under high temperatures.

HCAs are created in the blackened crust of charred meat. In addition to barbecuing, frying, grilling, and broiling will produce HCAs. They increase the risk of developing colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cnacers. One solution to this problem is to cook the meat in aluminum foil. Another solution is to cook the meat longer at a lower temperature. Cooking meats by roasting or baking produces lower levels of heterocyclic amines. The length of time a meat cooks also influences the production of HCAs. Meats that are well-done will have substantially more HCAs than meat that is cooked ‘medium.’

This can be a problem with any type of meat whether it's fish, pork, or beef. It applies to any protein. It doesn't apply to vegetables or fruit.

When meat is grilled, some of the fat drips down onto the charcoal below. The resulting smoke carries carcinogens back up onto the meat. Another workable solution to this problem is to buy the leanest cuts of meat you can.

Marinating meats in rosemary extract, vitamin E, or cherries will also reduce the levels of heterocyclic amines. Allow the meat to marinate for about 2 hours or so. A study conducted by the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii showed that steaks that were marinated overnight in a garlic and turmeric mixture had 50 percent fewer HCAs when cooked for 15 minutes.

In another study which was conducted by researchers at Michigan State University in 1998, it was found that HCA development was reduced by 69 to 78 percent when tart cherries were added to ground beef.

The high temperature cooking necessary to produce potato chips and French fries also produces a carcinogen. This carcinogen is known as acrylamide. Acrylamide is a white, odorless substance that was first discovered by Swedish scientists in 2002. Although the federal Food and Drug Administration knows that acrylamide causes cancer in laboratory animals, the agency doesn't require food manufacturers to list the amount on food labels.

Acrylamide is created when starches are cooked at high temperatures. Besides potato chips and French Fries, the deadly chemical acrylamide is in breakfast cereals, cookies and crackers. High temperature cooking such as baking, grilling, frying and roasting can make this carcinogen.

All foods should be minimally cooked, and high temperature cooking should be avoided at all costs. Processed foods such as potato chips and French fries should be avoided, or at the very least, eaten only occassionally. These processed 'foods' contain no nutritional value at all.

A process used by potato chip and donut manufacturers but hidden from the public is a health risk. The vegetable oil used in these products is constantly re-used and recycled until the oil is entirely absorbed. Thousands of gallons of vegetable oil is purchased and only a fraction is ever left over.

Using vegetable oils over and over again causes FFAs (free fatty acids) to form. These FFAs are chemically treated to reduced their quantity, and the oil is recycled to be used in making more potato chips and donuts. What's left after the oil has been recycled until it can't be recycled anymore is a dirty, thick sludge.