Reducing Exposure to Heat Induced Carcinogens

Cooked Food Toxins is the unambiguous, accurate label given to the chemicals formed when foods are exposed to high heat. The five categories of cooked food toxins are unmistakably dangerous and should be avoided if not eliminated from your diet. After each toxin you will find easy ways to avoid or lessen your exposure.

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE’s)
Internal AGE’s are formed when excess glucose molecules adhere themselves to the protein strands wrapped around fats in the bloodstream. This may not sound devastating, but these protein strands enable the fat cells to move easily through the watery blood stream. When glucose attaches to these strands they reach out to yet another protein, adhering the two together. When this happens between multiple fats in the blood stream LDL cholesterol rises. When clumps of fats stick to capillary walls arteriosclerosis begins. When the proteins of the skin are glued together in this way, wrinkles form. AGEs can be kept low in the body by keeping glucose levels at a healthy low so these reactive molecules don’t have the chance to wreak havoc on the body.

According to the leading researcher on AGE’s, Professor Helen Vlassara, M.D. of Mount Sanai Medical School, the most significant sources of AGE’s are from the food we ingest and cigarette smoking. AGE’s are formed in foods by exposure to heat and formation increases exponentially based increasing temperature and length of exposure to heat. The biggest culprits are animal fats cooked at high temperatures, but even plant foods can contain AGEs if they are cooked to the point of browning or crisping.

Lower your exposure to AGEs:

• Avoid foods cooked at high temps; frying, grilling, and baking at high temps.
• Choose cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, or baking under 250?F.
• Refrain from eating foods that are cooked to a crisp, charred, or blackened.
• Eat more plant based, raw foods (uncooked they contain negligible if any AGEs)

Acrylamide
A team of researchers in Sweden studying exposure to acrylamide (an industrial chemical) in the workplace, discovered that acrylamide is present in the bloodstream of those who eat certain cooked foods. Their findings revealed that acrylamide is formed whenever foods that contain the amino acid asparagine and any reactive carbohydrate are heated above 248?F. Acrylamide causes DNA damage, neurological and reproductive damage, and is a probable carcinogen. It is worth mentioning that the EPA deems the maximum safe level of acrylamide in a single liter of water to be 0.12 micrograms. A large serving of McDonalds French fries contain 82 micrograms, more than 683 times the acceptable level. This is due to the high content of asparagine in potatoes.

Lower your exposure to Acrylamide:

• Eliminate acrylamide creation in foods, especially potatoes, by cooking foods at temperatures below 248?F.
• Remember that water boils, or turns to steam, at 212?F which makes steaming or boiling the preferred cooking method for potatoes (and any asparagine-containing foods such as asparagus, wheat, sweet potatoes, etc).
• The smoke point for ALL cooking oils is much higher than 248?F, which means that eliminating ALL fried foods that contain asparagine is advisable.
• Avoiding potato chips, French fries, as well as breads and cereals that are cooked above 248?F will significantly lower your acrylamide exposure.
• Foods on the raw foods diet contain no acrylamide.

Heterocyclic Amines
This cooked food toxin is formed when creatine and amino acids are cooked at temperatures above 302?F. If you know anything about muscles and muscle building, you probably know that both creatine and amino acids are found in muscle tissue. That means that whenever you consume muscle meats from animals, (and what cut of meat isn’t a muscle?) you are being exposed to this mutagenic and carcinogenic toxin. Plant sources occur at much lower levels and only when food is browned or charred.

Lower your exposure to Heterocyclic Amines:

• Eliminate exposure by removing muscle meats from your diet and not cooking foods above 302?F.
• Lower your exposure by cooking meats at low temperatures, for example a beef stew cooked in crock pot at low temps instead of a steak cooked well done on a grill.
• Increase the amount of raw foods because raw fruits and vegetables do not contain any heterocyclic amines AND they have the added benefit of containing cancer fighting antioxidants, and fiber to help your body move foods, such as muscle meats, through the digestive tract more quickly and efficiently.

Nitrosamines
These known carcinogens are an accepted evil in processed foods, especially in meats like hot dogs, sausages, bacon and sandwich meats. Nitrosamines are formed when the preservatives nitrites or nitrates combine with amino acids and are exposed to high heat such as grilling or frying or to the acid in the stomach. The formation is known, but accepted because the nitrites and nitrates prevent botulism, a highly deadly bacteria to humans. Nitrates and nitrites are also found in processed cheese products, pickling salts, no-fat powdered milk, beer, and livestock feed.

Lower your exposure to Nitrosamines:

• Eliminate nitrate and nitrate containing foods from your diet, including animal meats that are not exclusively grass fed.
• If you choose to eat nitrosamine forming foods, do so with foods that are high in vitamin C and or Vitamin E which can offset damage and possibly block formation of these toxins in stomach acid.
• Eat a high raw diet with more raw foods, living produce, nuts and seeds.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Called PAHs for short, these toxins occur naturally from volcanoes or fires and from man-made sources such as automobile exhaust, trash burning, cigarette smoke, fumes from cooking fires or cooking oil. We may not be able to control exposure to these carcinogens from natural sources, but we can control our exposure by reducing or eliminating the consumption of grilled or charred meats and exposure to cooking fumes.

Lower your exposure to PAHs:

• Refrain from eating meats that are grilled, blackened or charred.
• Avoid areas of high exposure to exhaust, smoke, coal, or fresh tar or asphalt.
• Do not exercise in or near any of the conditions above.
• You guessed it, eat more raw foods! Fresh fruits and vegetables are a better choice and help offset the damage PAHs can cause.

In summary…
You can avoid or eliminate exposure to ALL five major cooked food toxins by switching to a raw foods diet or a high raw diet. You can decrease your exposure and increase your body’s ability to remove toxins you are exposed to more efficiently by incorporating more fresh, organic fruits and vegetables into your diet. You can also decrease exposure by choosing steaming, boiling, stewing or baking at low temperatures over frying, grilling, and baking at high temps. Decrease your exposure to carcinogenic toxins while increasing your energy and loosing weight by incorporating more raw food recipes.

If you think a raw food detox diet might be for you…

…Take a tour of Rocking Body Raw Food. This 14 day course is guided by your raw food video chef, Joy Houston and includes hundreds of video tutorials, menu plan, shopping lists, and recipes as well as comprehensive training videos and education on the science behind raw food nutrition.  If you are ready for a weight loss detox diet that works, tastes great, and involves eating delicious foods and no starvation, this may be the program for you.  What will you do in your new Rocking Body

The Summer Berry Jam makes a fabulous, not-too-sweet topping for fresh berries with soaked oat groats.  This berry breakfast bowl is an easy raw food diet recipe that gets its staying power from soaked oat groats.  Nutritionally, oat groats  are a great source of manganese, selenium, fiber and protein.  In terms of taste, they offer a slightly nuttier taste that oatmeal.  Groats require soaking over night.  Simply rinse oat groats well in a strainer then soak overnight.  In the morning, pour the soak water and groats through a strainer and rinse.

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More fast, easy raw food recipes are featured in the raw food detox diet, Rocking Body Raw Food. Take a tour of this weight loss detox program and you’ll see that this 14 day course is guided by your raw food video chef, Joy Houston and includes hundreds of video tutorials, menu plan, shopping lists, and recipes as well as comprehensive training videos and education on the science behind raw food nutrition. If you are ready for a weight loss detox diet that works, tastes great, and involves eating delicious foods and no starvation then this is the weight loss detox for you. What will you look like in your Rocking Body?

The raw food recipe for quick, easy jam is a lot better for you than jams or jellies that are LOADED with sugar.  Fresh summer berries are delicious right out of the garden, but when the garden is producing more than we can use, I make a batch of this raw food version of jam to keep up.  The only gelling agent is chia seeds, the only preservative is lemon juice, and the sweetener the ripe summer berries and a dash of organic grade B maple syrup.  And each of these ingredients carry their own benefits, so I feel great serving it to my family.

• Chia Seeds are high in Omega 3s, a source of easily digested protein, iron, calcium, and fiber (see a complete post on benefits of Chia Seeds by clicking here).  The act as a natural gelling agent that forms the mixture  into a jam.
• Lemon Juice is a natural preservative that keeps the color of jam bright and gorgeous.  It is also a great source of that antioxidant vitamin C.
• Grade B maple syrup may sound like you are getting a lesser quality syrup, but in actuality it is just the second tapping which yield a slightly darker syrup, that is higher in trace minerals and a richer natural sweetener.
• Berries Today’s jam was made with a collection of berries that were ripe and waiting to be picked, blueberries, strawberries, Marion berries, blackberries, and some red currents.  This offers a healthy bouquet of phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Choose whatever berries you like.

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh berries
3 tablespoons chia soaked in 1/2 cup water or fresh apple juice  and 1-2 tablespoons syrup until a gel is formed
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Start by soaking chia seeds in 1/2 a cup of water or apple juice and one tablespoon of maple.  If you are using a berries that is not very sweet,  like currents, you will need to use the second tablespoon of maple.  Leave the chia seeds to soak until all the liquid soaks into the seeds and you have a gel.  Put the chia mixture into the Vita-Mix with your fresh berries and blend until smooth.  The mixture will be similar to a smoothie. Refrigerated the mixture to allow it to firm up slightly.  If you want the mixture thicker and more firm, stir in another tablespoon of chia seeds.

This jam is delicious on fruit bowls, toast, ice cream (raw recipe for ice cream), brownies (raw recipe for brownies), or anything that will hold still.

This jam works as a freezer jam, but not for canning.  Since it is so easy to make, why not whip up a fresh batch once a week with seasonal fruit?

More fast, easy raw food recipes are featured in the raw food detox diet, Rocking Body Raw Food. Take a tour of this weight loss detox program and you’ll see that this 14 day course is guided by your raw food video chef, Joy Houston and includes hundreds of video tutorials, menu plan, shopping lists, and recipes as well as comprehensive training videos and education on the science behind raw food nutrition.  If you are ready for a weight loss detox diet that works, tastes great, and involves eating delicious foods and no starvation then this is the weight loss detox for you.  What will you look like in your Rocking Body?

Ingredients:
Almond Milk
1 cup almonds soaked overnight, drained & rinsed of soak water
6 cups water
6-8 dates, chopped (to insure no pits)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry I-scream
4 cups fresh picked strawberries, tops removed
1/4 to 1/3 cup raw honey, maple or agave (to taste)

Start by making a batch of almond milk.  Blend soaked almonds, dates and vanilla in the Vita-Mix until smooth.  Strain through a nut milk bag.  Reserve nut pulp to make almond flour.  Put the milk back into the Vita-Mix with half the strawberries and sweetener of your choice.   Once the mixture is creamy, add the remaining strawberries and blend briefly so some small chunks of berry remain.  Fill two ice cube trays with the strawberry cream and freeze.  Refrigerate the remaining mixture.  When the ice trays are frozen you are ready to make the ice cream.  Put one tray of frozen strawberry cream in the Vita-Mix with half the refrigerated cream and blend.  The ice cream will be a soft-serve texture.  You can repeat to make the remaining cubes and cream into more ice cream or save that mixture for tomorrow.  A half batch serves four, a full batch serves 8.  Top with fresh fruit and enjoy.

Tomorrow…Raw Strawberry Jam!

More fast, easy raw food recipes are featured in the raw food detox diet, Rocking Body Raw Food. Take a tour of this weight loss detox program and you’ll see that this 14 day course is guided by your raw food video chef, Joy Houston and includes hundreds of video tutorials, menu plan, shopping lists, and recipes as well as comprehensive training videos and education on the science behind raw food nutrition.  If you are ready for a weight loss detox diet that works, tastes great, and involves eating delicious foods and no starvation then this is the weight loss detox for you.  What will you look like in your Rocking Body?

As summer weather gets hotter, zucchinis are coming on faster.  That means you’ll have a lot in the garden , or if you have ot buy them they should be very well priced.  To make delicious use of zucchini, try this fast, raw food recipe.  It is sure to please AND since you don’t have to boil a stock pot of water, you’ll keep the kitchen cool.

Ingredients:
2-3 zucchini (spiral cut)
2 ripe tomatoes
1 cup sun dried tomatoes
½ red pepper
10-15 fresh basil leaves
¾ to 1 teaspoon sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper
½ cup olive oil

Directions: Start by using a vegetable spiralizer (complete list of raw food kitchen tools – including the spiralizer) to transform the zucchini into gluten free pasta.  Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of garlic powder then toss to coat well.  Set noodles aside.

Make marinara by putting all ingredients except olive oil in the Vita-Mix and blend.  Once misture is smooth add olive oil through the top of the blender while the blades are turning.  Blend well.

Top spiral cut zucchini with  marinara and chopped fresh basil. Serve.

This recipe is featured on the raw food detox diet, Rocking Body Raw Food, along with a wide variety of other ways to prepare this gluten free, fiber rich version of pasta with various sauces. Take a tour of this weight loss detox program and you’ll see that this 14 day course is guided by your raw food video chef, Joy Houston and includes hundreds of video tutorials, menu plan, shopping lists, and recipes as well as comprehensive training videos and education on the science behind raw food nutrition.  If you are ready for a weight loss detox diet that works, tastes great, and involves eating delicious foods and no starvation

First is the Environmental Working Groups new Sunscreen Buyer’s Guide.

Second is the iPhone app they offer so you can have the list with you when you shop.

Stick with the #1 and #2 choices!  You won’t see these brands (YET!) carried in major drug stores, but Target has been carrying the California Baby line.  You may want to place a quick on-line order to save the running around.

Whatever you have to do, get a SAFE sunscreen. You won’t see ANY of the major brand of sunscreen on this list for GOOD REASON, they generally contain LOADS of parabens, hormone disruptors and other know carcinogens!  Don’t grab & go at the drug store check out!

Your skin is your LARGEST organ.  Keep it safe and it will do the same for you!

Thanks.

A: When I can’t get cayenne at my local farmer’s market, I buy organic, US made cayenne from a brand called Simply Organic.  Since I consume ample cayenne (almost daily in the Maca F.A.C.A. recipe I use to replace coffee), I am not concerned about getting the extra heat units.  The organic certification from products in foreign countries is probably reliable if it is from a certification company you trust.  But why have it shipped all the way around the world when it is grown here?  Buying local, organic cayenne (or anything for that matter) requires less emissions which makes it better for us and the planet.

I hope that helps in your decision making process.

Eat like your life depends on it.  It does!

Q:
I’m a little confused because I read everywhere that we should eat fruit by it self. And you are saying to eat it with grains, which I would not mind because I’m sure it will taste better and I did not even think to add nuts. I will try it tomorrow morning, just thinking about it is making me hungry now. Could you please clear this fruit think for me so finally I will understand it? Thank you.

A:
Jan,
You are correct, some people do advise against eating fruit with other foods.  This is an area of raw food that I feel is very personal. For my body, eating some fruit with soaked grains in the morning helps to sustain the sugars in the fruit so I feel satisfied until lunch.  If  I eat fruit alone for breakfast, I crash around 10am.  So for me, seasonal fruit with my grains is a tasty way to complement my green juice in the morning and keep me feeling great all day.  I also have no issues adding fruits to my salads, or combining them with nut based desserts, but I have met people who do not have this luxury.

Here is a simplified version of the reasoning behind eating fruit by itself.  Fruits are generally very easily and quickly digested.  If you have a big meal right before or right after fruits, the fruits could be caught ahead of, or behind, foods that move more slowly through your digestive system.  If that occurred, you may experience gas pains, bloating or discomfort.

My suggestion is that you pay close attention to how your body feels and have your wife do the same.  We are all different. What works for one person will not always work well for another.  Be aware of what you are eating. Consider keeping a journal in your kitchen to keep track of how foods make you feel.  Try one new combination at a time.  Check in 20 minutes to an hour after eating.  If you get discomfort from eating fruits with other foods, try eating them separately.  Your oat groats (or other grains) will be just as tasty flavored with cinnamon and chopped nuts instead.  Find a delicious option that works with your body.  And remember, you are eating far healthier than people starting their days with processed sugar cereals or pancakes and bacon! Don’t stress about it.  Enjoy the new foods you are trying as you venture further into the world of raw food.

You have a lot of raw food support in San Francisco!  Check on line for Meet Up groups or go check out one of the Cafe Gratitude restaurants (here is a link to Cafe Gratitude’s Locations).  Take advantage and meet all the amazing people there who are taking their health into their own hands by eating a raw food diet.

Keep in touch and let me know how it is going.

Eat like your life depends on it.  It does!
Joy

Q: Hello Joy, This is Jan from Science of Raw Food Nutrition. I went to check out your website and “wow” it’s very cool, I even purchased your E-book. Now I see I’m centuries behind all this high tech stuff. Sorry I call it High tech, because I was always thinking that computers and technologies is high tech, But I think all this Raw Food Nutrition is actually high tech, which majority people are missing out on….Too bad i did not talk to you more in class about all this, I’m sure I would learn so much from you. Ok. I have a question about soaking grains like Millet and Quinoa. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

A: Jan, I’d love to help.  Here is what I suggest for starting out with soaking grains.  Start with oat groats.  Rinse the groats in a strainer then soak them overnight in warm water.  In the morning drain them and use them as a cereal.  They are a great addition when a green juice won’t be a hearty enough meal to hold you over ’til lunch. The groats will have a slightly chewy texture.  Top them with diced banana, cinnamon and nuts, or whatever season fruit is available.  If you want a texture that is more similar to cooked oatmeal, put the groats in the Vita-Mix (or BlendTech) with a little fresh almond milk. Blend until an oatmeal texture is achieved.

Now, onto the grains you specifically asked about.

Quinoa: It is possible to sprout quinoa, but the unhulled form is hard to find and the results aree less than fabulous.  But, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy quinoa, I do. I rinse the grains to clean them well, and cook them in water or vegetable broth until tender.  As you probably remember from class, it is high heat and charring that causes food toxins.  There is no danger of that with quinoa which steams up nicely in just a short while. This is a delicious (and very easy!) way to enjoy quinoa. Alternatively, they also taste great, and are more firm, if you soak them overnight, drain and rinse them in the morning and then soak them in warm water until tender.  Either way they are a fabulous source of protein.

Millet: I hate to sound like a broken record, but I don’t sprout millet either.  I steam it or double soak it as mentioned above. I cook it in batches and toss is with my salads to make the meal more filling and to add protein.

Let me know how it goes with you and your wife as you integrate more raw foods.  It was a pleasure to meet you in class.

Eat like your life depends on it.  It does!
Joy

My quickie response to that question would be, because they are an easy way to incorporate essential fatty acids, especially Omega 3s.  See the Geeky Science Answer below if you want more info.  If not, jump right to the post on Acai Berry Jam and start incorporating these healthful seeds to your diet.  I am particularly fond of Chia Seeds because, like flax seeds, they have three times more Omeg 3s than 6s (which, as you’ll find in the geeky science answer, is GOOD).  Unlike flax, they do not add a distinct flavor.  Once soaked, these bland seeds make a gooey concoction that makes a perfect replacement for the pectin and massive sugar used in most jams. They bring added nutritional benefits to the table as well since they contain 11% protein and are a good source of calcium, fiber, and manganese.

GEEKY SCIENCE ANSWER:
Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA), an omega 3 fatty acid,  is one of the two essential fatty acids our bodies need but cannot make (thus the fancy title “essential” because we must consume them).  The other essential fatty acid is Linoleic Acid, an omega 6 fatty acid.  The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is ridiculously high in Omega 6s which are found in the oils used in processed foods (canola, soybean, cottonseed, corn and safflower oils), but it is shockingly and problematically low in omega 3s.  What compounds the issue of excessive ratio of Omega 6’s to Omega 3’s is that they are metabolized by the same enzymes.  That means the enzymes, which are the catalysts for both these acids to be broken down in and used in the formation of the other fatty acids are a hot commodity!  Since the Omega 3’s are far out numbered by 6s, they are less likely to access these enzymes.

Q: How do I get more Omega 3s and less 6s so I have a healthy ratio??
A: That’s easy! I eat little or no animal products and incorporate Chia Seeds, Hemp Seeds, and Flax seeds into my diet. A largely plant-based diet tends to naturally have a healthy balance of Omega 3s to Omega 6s because fresh fruits and veggies  have equal amounts and leafy greens have more 3s than 6s.

Here is a nutritional profile for Chia Seeds

Here is the link to the Chia Seeds I buy from Amazon.