Acrylamide

[soliloquy72]

So, what are everyone's thoughts on acrylamide? I have completely given up coffee, even though I drank it but rarely and it was organic/fair trade, because it is high in acrylamide. We didn't deep fry anything anyway, but I've read that bread crust is high in it, too. Pumpkin doesn't eat bread crust--maybe she has some wisdom there . . .

[kbchavez]

I've been wondering about this, too. Dr. Mercola has been pushing how bad acrylamide is, and it concerns me, since DH LOVES french fries, and I thought making them at home fried in grassfed beef tallow was a reasonably healthy thing. I hope it's like the toxins in grilled food... probably not a problem in healthy people eating protective traditional foods.

[NoTiGG]

i read once that the potato skins actually cancel out the ill effects of grilling. Perhaps if you eat the french fries with the skins still on, and cooked at a reasonable (lower temperature) it would be okay?

[Tcarwyn]

need...to...read...up!

Tanya

[bigknitwit]

I've wondered about it too - especially for my homemade french fries (done in the pan), and my roasted chicken (browned).

[NotTheOnlyOne]

I am not going to look that word up..... I do NOT want to know why I need to stop drinking coffe.... ignorance is bliss.....curiosity killed the cat after all..... I will NOT look it up.... I might not even click on this thread again for the mere chance that someone would explain what this thread is about.....

[Rachel J.]

Originally Posted by kbchavez

I've been wondering about this, too. Dr. Mercola has been pushing how bad acrylamide is, and it concerns me, since DH LOVES french fries, and I thought making them at home fried in grassfed beef tallow was a reasonably healthy thing. I hope it's like the toxins in grilled food... probably not a problem in healthy people eating protective traditional foods.

I really like Mercola's site and the interesting information he finds, however, I'm also finding that he can be a bit alarmist. That being said, yeah, it would probably be better if I didn't fry my foods (esp. in veggie oil) but dh is Cuban and we really enjoy the occasional fried plantains, or potato chips, his new favorite. My consolation is that, unlike restaurant or packaged fried foods, we fry once and then toss the oil, much fewer carcinogens floating around in there.

[kbchavez]

so do I need to toss my grassfed beef tallow after one fry? I have to put about 2 pints of fat in my deep fry pan to get the level high enough to get to the french fries. It seems so wasteful.

[Metasequoia]

I never read that coffee was high in acrylamides (but maybe it is?)....things high in starch are high on the list, like FF, Cheerios, toast, etc. I had a list a few years ago.....

[krankedyann]

I did a little digging, and at http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract...jf0349634.html it says that brewed coffee has between 6-16ng/mL. I don't know how that translates relative to other foods, though.

[krankedyann]

This is from the FDA- it has the levels of acrylamide in a lot of different foods. NOtice where coffee ranks in relation to other foods- http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/acrydata.html. Do note, though, that it is the coffe grounds and not brewed coffee that are accessed for the most part. The brewed coffees that are listed are low compared to other foods.

[bigknitwit]

Ugh - thanks for posting that link - that was sobering...