I figured with BBQ season just around the
corner, this article might give some 'food
for thought'.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A compound formed
when meat is charred at high temperatures --
as in barbecue -- encourages the growth of
prostate cancer in rats, researchers reported
on Sunday.
Their study, presented at a meeting of the American
Association for Cancer Research, may help explain
the link between eating meat and a higher risk of
prostate cancer.
It also fits in with other studies suggesting that
cooking meat until it chars might cause cancer.
The compound, called PhIP, is formed when meat
is cooked at very high temperatures, Dr. Angelo
De Marzo and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore reported.It appears to both initiate
and promote the growth of prostate cancer
in rats, they said.
"We stumbled across a new potential interaction
between ingestion of cooked meat in the diet
and cancer in the rat," De Marzo said in a
statement.
"For humans, the biggest problem is that it's
extremely difficult to tell how much PhIP you've
ingested, since different amounts are formed
depending on cooking conditions."
For the study, Yatsutomo Nakai and other
members of De Marzo's team mixed PhIP into
food given to rats for up to eight weeks, then
studied the animals' prostates, intestines and
spleens. They found genetic mutations in all
the organs after four weeks.
corner, this article might give some 'food
for thought'.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A compound formed
when meat is charred at high temperatures --
as in barbecue -- encourages the growth of
prostate cancer in rats, researchers reported
on Sunday.
Their study, presented at a meeting of the American
Association for Cancer Research, may help explain
the link between eating meat and a higher risk of
prostate cancer.
It also fits in with other studies suggesting that
cooking meat until it chars might cause cancer.
The compound, called PhIP, is formed when meat
is cooked at very high temperatures, Dr. Angelo
De Marzo and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore reported.It appears to both initiate
and promote the growth of prostate cancer
in rats, they said.
"We stumbled across a new potential interaction
between ingestion of cooked meat in the diet
and cancer in the rat," De Marzo said in a
statement.
"For humans, the biggest problem is that it's
extremely difficult to tell how much PhIP you've
ingested, since different amounts are formed
depending on cooking conditions."
For the study, Yatsutomo Nakai and other
members of De Marzo's team mixed PhIP into
food given to rats for up to eight weeks, then
studied the animals' prostates, intestines and
spleens. They found genetic mutations in all
the organs after four weeks.
