Is my burned toast carcinogenic? | The Right Chemistry

[@edl653]

I have been wondering about that for a long time. Thank you for answering that question and removing the guilt I have when I don't throw out lightly burnt toast. 😀

[@louisriverin2295]

Très interessant, merci beaucoup d’avoir fait la lumière sur le sujet ❤

[@user-lk6gk3sf6b]

😅 Love the ducks!

[@ahill4642]

👀 🦆 dude definitely digs ducks

[@MichaelAChang]

Burnt toast tastes awful, which is probably a good thing and a natural response to things that aren't very good for us.

[@andriyko1604]

That is good to know! Now I can drink my coffee with toast without worrying about getting cancer soon.

[@markdemers1233]

Something to consider is that animal studies of acrylamide toxicity may not be valid in considering human toxicity. We have been eating cooked food for over a million years. No other animal has. Maybe we are more adapted to cooked foods.

[@kovatembel]

I'm not a biologist, but from reading and also my common sense I don't think that carcinogenicity is determined only via animal studies. That would be really bad, since indeed so many things don't transfer between different animal species (and humans). There are also studies on (human) cell cultures - I guess that that's actually a pretty useful environment for studying carcinogenics, because you can see if a cell divides more quickly or acquires more mutations than usual. And once you have evidence from animal and cell culture studies, one can do epidemiological studies to look for correlations (I think that in extreme examples like cigarettes, the epidemiological data is so clear you don't need anything else). Of course one (and also 10) study is not enough, you need a sufficient body of evidence to be (more) sure about a statement such as "X causes cancer" (which is why there are categories, "probable carcinogenic" etc.). I think you make a good point on humans being possible more adapt for cooked foods, I just wanted to make that point on the source of the data. To be fair, the video was talking specifically about the recommendation for the safe amount, perhaps that data relies more heavily on animal studies.

[@johnnyarsenault9124]

Quite a collection of rubber duckies!

[@kingbingus]

I experience seizures when I smell burnt toast. Even when there is no toast.

[@supercompooper]

This is quantum physics in action

[@TheZombieGAGA]

All about threshold of toxic dosage and obviously coffee anti oxidants

[@Cherish..2]

My husband likes very dark toast that sets our alarm off

[@RonsonDalby]

So do I! 😊

[@JK-uj9hs]

I like to run the toast 1 time on max. I knew a guy who would do it 2-3 times until his sister started complaining about the smell lol.

[@ahill4642]

Refreshing! ☕️ 🍞

[@trick384]

So is it the roasting of the beans themselves that produces the carcinogen or the method which it’s brewed that extracts less/more of it in the final product? Also foods that aren’t typically colored by high heat such as chips and french fries can have it also?

[@chrislim7976]

How about making new toast and not knowingly injesting acrylomide... dr.

[@harrysuragh3506]

Hello Doc...What using Green Tea for my polyphenol?..How much will I get from a cup?...writing from Jamaica...Thank you

[@francesbernard2445]

Is it the toast or is it the smoke in the air when burning that toast.

[@WalterBurton]

That was a long walk for a short glass of water. 🤨

[@aakhthuu]

I burned two toasts, waiting for the info that was promised.

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

I'm not a scientist so I don't know if anything I'm doing actually matters, but since my father in law got pancreatic cancer a year ago, I decided to try and avoid foods that contain nitrites as this seems to be the most likely carcinogen that influenced his development of cancer (unless it was genetic, but I've heard nothing about that from him). This means that I avoid packaged meats, food burnt black as well as cooking food at an extremely high temperature (i.e.: deep fried), and as a result caramel and caramel colouring as they are made by cooking sugar until it burns. It's difficult because caramel colouring and nitrites are found in the majority of products you'll find at the supermarket-- even foods that aren't brown have caramel colouring in it sometimes for some reason. It was very difficult at first but I've found over time how to get around it. I don't have any data that suggests I'm healthier, except for that my annual blood test and physical check up has shown that over the last year I had a better result than the last several years of my life. Some people I've talked to about it say it's because processed food is bad for you but honestly the only processed food I avoid is processed ham and the like, so I don't think that's the case. But maybe it's like you said, these small amounts build up over time from a variety of sources and that causes the problem. In any case I will still eat food offered to me even if it probably contains nitrites because I know I avoid it in my daily life so it's probably okay for that week

[@LeMAD22]

Nitrites aren't a death sentence if you eat well overall. It does increase the chances you get some cancers (mainly colorectal iirc) by like 40%, but this is only true if your don't eat enough fiber, or you eat a ton of processed meat. The problem being that most people who eat a lot of processed meat tend not to eat nearly enough vegetables. But with a varied food intake including plenty of fruits and vegetables, you can "cheat" a lot without adverse health effects. Btw some vegetables have naturally a ton of nitrites, but it's irrelevant because of their high fiber content.

[@megapangolin1093]

If you are worried about carcinogens, alcohol is a potent, multiorgan carcinogen. Keep clear. Otherwise your idea is good. But the amount of these is the important thing, nitrites are known to induce cancer, but depends how much you eat. Bit like lying in the sun, a little bit is ok, but a lot can give you skin cancer.

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

@@LeMAD22 I've not read of any link between fibre and nitrites. I'll have to look into it more. I'm not sure how much you can cheat, because I had read something like they don't know what the true safe limit is for nitrites. Some estimates were as low as 50 mg per week. I'll have to read more about it, like I said, I won't reject it outright but I try my best to avoid it. Thanks for the information.

[@PepeDalinShow]

So it's all about the dose or the amount you intake overall throughout the day.

[@RonsonDalby]

I love burnt toast.

[@stevef.8708]

Cut down on the avocado toast if you want to become a millionaire! 😂

[@bz1994]

I love everything burnt lol

[@Dan-pv1hu]

You got a lot of ducks there.. were you the guy who wrote my physics textbook?

[@chriscunliffe7450]

I was told years ago by a friend who spent part of his career spraying weed killers on lawns that i should eat some burnt toast if i ingested some weed killer because the carbon in the burnt toast would filter out the toxins from the weed killer...i thought carbon is used is some types of filters

[@megapangolin1093]

The principle he is suggesting is that activated charcoal can act as a sponge to take the chemical out of your system, this is used in hospitals. Best thing is not to ingest significant quantities of weedkiller, or bleach, gasoline, paint etc. Breathing a little bit of spray of a modern weedkiller is a lot safer than drinking alcohol, a known carcinogen.

[@c0mputer]

Toast is overrated. It has to be hot to be enjoyable and it’s hot for like 45 seconds after leaving the toaster. I much prefer regular bread. Bread and butter is excellent.

[@ahill4642]

😂 eat your delicious and superior toast *faster!*

[@gnarly_charley]

Size matters.

[@ahill4642]

That’s what she said.

[@megapangolin1093]

Fascinating evaluation of how a sensible person will undertake a risk assessment view of carcinogenicity, but the average person can only deal with carcinogenicity using their inbuilt "panic button:", which seems to be entirely psychologically driven. IARC is guilty of pressing the panic button for all sorts of compounds which many other regulatory bodies consider to be safe for normal exposure. This then encourages people to take the top 10 regulatory authorities in the world, with their thousands of experts and throw their opinion in the trash can, because the "God" of carcinogenicity has pronounced. So everyone wants to ban whatever it is. These people discuss their rationale for this whilst eating food and drinking beverages containing alcohol, which the liver processes into acetaldehyde which IARC has nominated as a potent, multi organ carcinogen. Don't tell these people that potatoes in your French fries, is a noted source of arsenic...Or that aflatoxins found in peanuts is one of the most powerful toxins in the world. The latter are not carcinogens, but depends on your mindset as to what danger can look like.

[@kovatembel]

So they are fear-mongering while you imply that potatos and peanuts, foods eaten by humans for thousands of years, are the silent killers of the world? Not arguing with the first half of your post, and I really appreciate the approach of the video of quantifying stuff and seeing what amounts can be considered negligible.

[@megapangolin1093]

@@kovatembel No, I am suggesting that it is easy to label anything as dangerous if you look at certain characteristics, but when you get into the real world, practical exposure produces less danger than the worst case analysis.

[@kovatembel]

@@megapangolin1093 I see, that makes perfect sense. I think the same applies to arsenic etc., and I thought you implied otherwise. Thanks for the reply!

[@megapangolin1093]

@@kovatembel No problem!

[@WalterBurton]

Don't eat yoga mats!

[@grahamstubbs4962]

When you buy ground coffee, it usually contains tiny white pieces in it. I'm guessing those pieces are plastic and also that they weren't added subsequent to roasting. So, how does roasted plastic play out in the great scheme of things?

[@TraceurTube]

What’s a micro gram?

[@mrrrrrr3116]

Micro-anything means 1 millionth, so a microgram is 1/1,000,000 gram

[@movid]

Can't you just scrape the burnt part and enjoy your toast just the same?😊

[@seanwoodyoneill8348]

I like the way you think

[@sir_john_hammond]

You're trying to tell me that some french fries without any sign of burning have more acrylamide than the obviously heavily burned toast you're holding in your hand, and you're being "generous" by what... doubling or tripling that 5 mcg? Obvious mental gymnastics at work.

[@CitizenAyellowblue]

You think? There is likely a difference between what compounds are produced in baked (toasted) food and fried food. Obvious not an expert in gymnastics.

[@dadigitechman]

🤣🤣🤣