Recently a California Judge ordered that Coffee must now be labeled with a cancer warning. This is because coffee contains Acrylamide.
Acrylamide is a chemical widely used during the manufacturing of paper, dye, and other industrial products. It can also be formed when certain foods are cooked at high temperatures.
Acrylamide is also found in cigarette smoke.
How do you get exposed to Acrylamide?
Major sources of Acrylamide exposure: Food, water, #coffee, #cosmetics and skin products, #smoking #cigarettes, second-hand smoke, various occupational working environments, and #airpollution from industrial factories and manufacturing plants.
When certain foods are cooked at high temperatures, sugars within the food substance can react with amino acids, like asparagine, which causes acrylamide to form.
Frying, baking, or roasting certain foods, such as potatoes, grains (bread), nuts, and coffee beans produces acrylamide. French fries and potato chips, for example, have measurable acrylamide levels.
The burning of tobacco exposes the lungs to Acrylamide.
Water treatment processing plants produce Acrylamide in treated water, which cannot easily be removed because Acrylamide is water-soluble and tiny. Thus Acrylamide can be found in drinking water.
What exactly are the risks associated with Acrylamide?
Animal studies have identified clear evidence of #cancer-causing activity in multiple tissue sites. Tumors in these studies were found in breast, reproductive organs, thyroid, lung, etc. There is limited data about human exposure but there is some data pointing towards #pancreatic and #breast cancers from what I could find in the following report. NIH, 14th Annual Report on Carcinogens.
The World Heath Organization (#WHO) has stated that Acrylamide has a high probability of being #carcinogenic in humans. The main issue is quantifying exposure, which is hard to replicate in human research.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers the chemical a "probable human carcinogen."
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is currently developing guidance for the food and cosmetic industry on reduction of #acrylamide levels in food and cosmetic products. The FDA also regulates the amount of #acrylamide in a variety of materials that come in contact with food.
The EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) regulates acrylamide levels in drinking water.
How can you reduce your exposure to Acrylamide?
Reduce consumption of fried or baked starches (#carbohydrates), like potatoes, nuts and nut butters, crackers, breads, etc.
Aim to fry foods at 170 degrees Celsius (338 degrees Fahrenheit) or lower.
· Cook potato strips, such as French Fries, to a golden yellow rather than a golden brown color.
· Toast bread to the lightest color acceptable.
· Soak raw potato slices in water for 15-30 minutes before frying or roasting. Drain and blot dry before cooking.
· Do not store raw potatoes in the refrigerator.
To reduce Acrylamide exposure from water you can minimize consumption of municipal (tap) water, and it is worth researching water-filtration systems that claim to remove #Acrylamide. Make sure the brand you are considering has been specifically tested for Acrylamide removal by an independent entity.
As far as cosmetics are concerned, it is worth reading up about a company’s manufacturing processes. Sometimes you end-up getting what you pay for.
Should you stop drinking coffee?
I don’t think it is necessary to stop drinking coffee. Coffee has some pretty incredible health benefits, which has been pretty clear in the medical literature. It prolongs life, reduces risk of certain cancers, reduces risk of developing diabetes, dementia and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and the list goes on.
I suspect that drinking lightly roasted coffee, such as "blonde" roasts, could be a healthier option. Again, this is because the coffee beans are exposed to high temperatures for shorter periods, therefore the coffee should “theoretically” have lower acrylamide levels. This is just my theory, but beware, the caffeine content is typically higher in lighter roasts and the flavor is subtler. In order to get the bold taste out of a lighter roast one could attempt to use a french-press and allow the grinds to sit longer in the water, but it isn’t the same.
For those of us who will continue to drink coffee the next section has some ideas about how to offset our Acrylamide exposure.
What can you do to help your body get rid of Acrylamide?
This is not clear, in particular because we don’t have a specific mechanism for how Acrylamide causes #cancer. However, since Acrylamide is water-soluble, anything that improves kidney function should help. Also, improving the liver’s capacity to neutralize water-soluble #toxins is important. In addition, it is important to improve the function of enzymes in the body that produce #glutathione and other #antioxidants.
Drinking more water, a lot more water for some of us, will probably be the most important thing you can do to get rid of Acrylamide. However, make sure you are drinking pure water; otherwise you may inadvertently increase your exposure.
Taking herbs to improve kidney and liver detoxification may be helpful. There are many herbs and herbal-based supplements to choose from.
Pathwayformulas.com has an excellent #detoxification support supplement called . This product, like all #detox formulas should only be taken if you are willing to increase your intake of purified water. If you are not drinking enough water and do not have at least one bowel movement each day then taking any detox supplement will not be as effective at helping your body get rid of toxins, and you may actually be doing more harm than good. Think about it, your body can only get rid of waste by urinating and defecating. Taking #supplements can actually harm you if you are not getting rid of your waste.
Pathway Formulas also has a supplement to address air pollution called Smog Defense. Since #Acrylamide is a #toxin that can be found in #airpollution it may also be advantageous to take #Smog Defense as an adjunct to Detox&Cleanse for those who live nearby manufacturing plants, in places where incineration occurs, and those who are exposed to #cigarettesmoke.
Glutathione is your body’s main antioxidant and very likely helps directly and/or indirectly with #detoxifying Acrylamide. #Glutathione is a large molecule so it does not typically get absorbed when taken orally, so people who need it typically take a combination of ingredients that boost the body’s production of #Glutathione. People with various acute and chronic diseases will often get Glutathione intravenously (IV) or as intramuscular injections (IM). However, there is a new sublingual technology called Nano-Glutathione that appears to be a small enough molecule to actually get absorbed through the mucous membranes within the mouth (sublingual). There is research available that indicates that #NanoGlutathione does get adequately absorbed.
Zeolite is a natural substance that binds to a variety of toxins and then gets removed naturally by the body. I am not certain whether #Zeolite binds to Acrylamide but there is a chance that it does not based on the fact that Acrylamide tends to carry a negative charge, like zeolite. This is something I will investigate more in the near future.
Feel free to respond to and/or share this post from this website or on the Pathway Formulas Facebook Page by clicking here. Any readers with pertinent information about how to safely #detox Acrylamide from the body are encouraged to share their knowledge with us.
Nurture your body, for only in good health can we be free to pursue our higher purposes for existence!
Justin Groode, MD
Founder/CEO of Pathway Formulas, LLC
