Burned Toast? Back Away

Burnt toast may be as bad for your health as a charred steak. A study by the U.K. Food Standards Agency has found burnt toast has the same cancerous substances that show up in over-grilled meat. Scorched potato chips and french fries are also suspect. The trigger is acrylamide – a chemical connected to cancer. It’s produced when tobacco is burned, and also foods containing water, sugar and amino acids are burned at temperatures in excess of 121 degrees celsius. Acrylamide has also been linked to damage to the nervous and reproductive systems.