Grilled Chicken Salad? Think Twice.

I thought this lecture by Dr. Neal Barnard was interesting.

“When you subject skeletal muscle (Chicken, Beef, Fish) to high temperature cooking carcinogens are formed ie. Heterocyclic amines, specifically phenylmethylimidazopyridine, are mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds found in grilled chicken.”

So what is a Carcinogen? 

A carcinogen is a something that is known to cause cancer in humans or animals. A carcinogen affects a body in the most fundamental level. It can act on the deoxyribonucleic acid – the DNA itself, which causes aberrations or mutations that can lead to the abnormal increase in the growth of cells. The effect on cell division will likely increase the chances of mutations in the DNA. Some carcinogens can also have a bad effect on the body without having to attack or change the DNA.

Dr. Neal Barnard and his team, after taking hundreds of sample from “fast food” restaurants and concluding that "every sample" of meat did test positive for carcinogens, took MacDonald’s, Burger King, Apple Bees, TGIF and KFC to court. Proposition 65 in California: which states if you are selling something “harmful” the customer must be informed: Burger King has settled and has posted that there Grilled Chicken contain cancer causes chemicals. 

crazy right.

(Lecture by Dr. Neal Barnard)