On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 244

requirementsforday-to-daygoodhealth.
MostpeopleintheWesthadplentyoffood,
andlifeexpectancyhadrisentosevenoreight
decades.Medicalresearchthenbeganto
concentrateontheroleofnutritioninthe
diseasesthatcutthegoodlifeshort,mainly
heartdiseaseandcancer.Andheremeatand
itsstrongappealturnedouttohavea
significantdisadvantage:adiethighinmeat
isassociatedwithahigherriskofdeveloping
heartdiseaseandcancer.Inourpostindustrial
lifeofphysicalinactivityandessentially
unlimitedabilitytoindulgeourtasteformeat,
meat’sotherwisevaluableendowmentof
energycontributestoobesity,whichincreases
theriskofvariousdiseases.Thesaturatedfats
typicalofmeatsraisebloodcholesterollevels
andcancontributetoheartdisease.Andtothe
extentthatmeatdisplacesfromourdietthe
vegetablesandfruitsthathelpfightheart
diseaseandcancer(p.255),itincreasesour
vulnerabilitytoboth.


It’sprudent,then,totemperourspecies’
infatuationwithmeat.Ithelpedmakeuswhat
weare,butnowitcanhelpunmakeus.We
shouldeatmeatinmoderation,and
accompanyitwiththevegetablesandfruits
thatcomplementitsnutritionalstrengthsand
limitations.

Minimizing Toxic By-Products in Cooked
MeatsWeshouldalsopreparemeatwithcare.
Scientists have identified three families of
chemicals created during meat preparation
that damage DNA and cause cancers in
laboratoryanimals,andthatmayincreaseour
risk of developing cancer of the large
intestine.
Heterocyclic Amines HCAs are formed at
high temperatures by the reaction of minor
meat components (creatine and creatinine)
with amino acids. HCA production is
generally greatest at the meat surface where
thetemperatureishighestandthemeatjuices