DID YOU KNOW?

"It has long been known that cooked red meat contains cancer-causing heterocyclic amines, which form as the meat is heated. But a surprising new report from the National Cancer Institute shows that oven-broiled, pan-fried, or grilled/barbecued chicken carries an even bigger load of these carcinogens than does red meat. And the more you cook it, the worse it gets. A well-done hamburger contains 33 ng/g* of the carcinogen PhIP, and a well-done grilled steak has about 30 ng/g, but grilled chicken reached fully 480 ng/g (Rothman, et al. Cancer Research Vol. 55, 1995: 4516-9). . . .

"For those who hoped that chicken was 'health food,' the cholesterol content of beef and chicken is actually the same and their fat content is not much different. Carcinogens, if anything, are more concentrated in many cooked chicken products. All of this makes vegetarian choices look better and better." From Neal D. Barnard, M.D., "Foods Against Cancer: An Update, Good Medicine 5.2 (Spring 1996): 16. For more information contact Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, PO Box 6322, Washington DC 20015 (ph: 202-686-2210).

*ng = nanogram = 1 billionth part of a gram.

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