Gaby
It’s no secret that fried food isn’t the healthiest choice. Medical professionals have repeatedly warned that it contains a number of carcinogens that increase the risk of cancer in humans. However, only recently have scientists discovered a new, previously unknown potential mechanism that explains how and why this occurs.
A team of researchers led by Eric Kuhl found that cooking food over high heat damages its DNA. When consuming dishes prepared in this way, the damaged fragments integrate into human DNA, leading to harmful mutations. This significantly raises the risk of cancer and other serious health issues.
How Does Fried Food Become Dangerous to Health?
Red meat is highly nutritious, packed with beneficial substances and vitamins. However, its consumption is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, certain types of cancer, and other chronic illnesses. The World Health Organization classifies red meat as a “probable” carcinogen due to the chemicals and molecules that can form during frying, which may subsequently lead to cancer.
Consumers often don’t realize that most food products contain DNA. However, meat, fish, and poultry are derived from living organisms. These products consist of muscle cells from animals, each containing DNA molecules. According to scientists, these molecules suffer significant damage when meat is fried. These damaged components are potentially dangerous because they can cause mutations in the DNA of those who consume fried food.
Previous studies suggested that fried food causes negative health effects due to reactive molecules, which are abundant in meat cooked at high temperatures. However, recent findings indicate that the situation is much more serious.
The issue is that organic compounds from the DNA of food products penetrate human cells more easily during digestion. This is why, as noted by study leader Eric Kuhl, fried meat can be a particularly dangerous source of genetic risk.
Experiment with Different Cooking Temperatures
The research team tested their hypothesis on lab-grown human cells and mice. During the experiments, they prepared beef and pork mince and potatoes in two different ways. The selected products were boiled at 100°C for 15 minutes and separately fried at 220°C for 20 minutes.
Next, the scientists examined the DNA of the experimental food. They found that the products cooked at higher temperatures exhibited more severe genetic damage. While the structure of the potatoes suffered less damage than that of the meat, the reasons for this remain unclear. The researchers also identified two common types of DNA damage that are toxic and could lead to cancer.
Furthermore, the researchers studied the impact of the damaged DNA structure of the food on the test cells of mice and humans. The results confirmed the scientists’ earlier conclusions. Significant DNA damage was observed in lab-grown cells and in the small intestines of the mice during the experiment.
Conclusions Are Not Final; More Research Ahead
While the results are concerning, the research team emphasizes that many more experiments are needed before this connection is definitively established in relation to humans. The team plans to investigate a broader range of food products and cooking methods.
According to the scientists, it is still necessary to understand the long-term health effects of this newly discovered mechanism when consuming small portions, as is typically the case in real life. The conducted experiment only allowed for an examination of short-term effects.
As Eric Kuhl noted to Newatlas, his team’s research raises many questions that remain unexplored. For instance, whether there are significant chronic health risks for people from consuming grilled food. The scientist believes it is still unknown what the initial findings will lead to. However, the scientific community should take the evidence obtained into account in further studies on these issues.
