Foods such as French fries and potato chips have been linked to genome mutations that could lead to cancer, according to the results of
Thatâs because just like tobacco smoke, they all contain the chemical acrylamide, which becomes the substance glycidamide when metabolized. Both have been found to be carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, in animals.
In the study, which was led by the International Agency for Research on Cancerâs (IARC) , researchers describe acrylamide as a âprobable human carcinogen.â
âThe potential role of acrylamide in cancer has been under scrutiny for some time, although actual exposure to acrylamide has been challenging to measure in epidemiological studies,â Dr. Marc Gunter, who heads the IARCâs Section of Nutrition and Metabolism, explained in a press release.
âThis new study provides intriguing evidence that acrylamide can cause specific mutations in humans that may lead to cancer development.â
WHAT IS ACRYLAMIDE?
, acrylamide is not intentionally added to food, but âis a chemical that naturally forms in certain foods, particularly plant-based foods that are rich in carbohydrates and low in protein, during processing or cooking at high temperaturesâ for extended periods.
Health Canada research has shown that the highest levels of acrylamide is found in foods such as French fries and potato chips. The chemical is also present in lower levels in items such as âcookies, breakfast cereals, bread, as well as other foods that are also processed at high temperatures such as coffee, roasted almonds, and grain-based coffee substitutes.â It is also present in tobacco smoke.
ACRYLAMIDE AND CANCER
In their study, IARC researchers found glycidamide-linked âmutational signaturesâ in 30 per cent of the roughly 1,600 different types of tumours they analyzed. That wide range of tumours included cancers of the liver, kidney, bile duct, colon and uterus from dietary and occupational acrylamide exposure as well as smoking-related cancers involving the lungs, head, neck and liver.
The study, senior author and IARC scientist Dr. Jiri Zavadil said in a press release, âprovides important mechanistic evidence that a commonplace dietary and lifestyle agent can produce highly characteristic DNA damage, thereby potentially contributing to the development of cancer.â
The study concludes by urging further investigations into the potential links between acrylamide and cancer.
âSuch future investigations may ultimately provide a robust rationale for reducing the exposure to acrylamide in the general population,â Zavadil said.