harmful toxins from cooking

[A_Tribe_Called_Paleo]

Im very new to the paleo lifestyle and the health food world in general. Its only been about 6 months. I keep hearing about these harmful toxins created from cooking! does anyone have anymore information on this subject? What are these toxins called? at what temperature do they begin to form? are these toxins carcinogenic? any information will help!

[cherimoya_kid]

There are different types, the most well-known being acrylamides and AGEs. The higher the heat, the more toxins form. The longer you cook it, the more toxins form. Some are carcinogenic. Tyler Durden is better on this topic than I am.

[A_Tribe_Called_Paleo]

wow thank you! by any chance do you know if these toxins are created by dehydrating food?

[TylerDurden]

No, unless the dehydration occurs at temperatures of 40 degrees celsius and above.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_foodism#Toxins_created_by_cooking

The above link goes into detail. Basically, advanced glycation end products  are heavily age-related toxins. The help speed up aging and cause and/or exacerbate  all sorts of nasty age-related conditions such as alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes, arthritis etc. Advanced Glycation End products(otherwise known as  "AGEs") are featured in many tens of thousands of studies featured on PubMed and elsewhere.
Heterocyclic amines("HCAs") and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons("PAHs") are not only formed by cooking but are also components of cigarette-smoke and car-exhaust fumes.  PAHs are also a byproduct of coal- and tar-pits.

Nitrosamines("NSAs"). are formed by smoking foods. Acrylamide also forms in cooked foods. All such toxins are carcinogenic and start getting formed somewhere above 40 degrees Celsius. At 40 degrees Celsius and above, the enzymes start getting slowly destroyed, then the bacteria get killed and the heat-created toxins start forming.

[eveheart]

by any chance do you know if these toxins are created by dehydrating food?

In my area (California), packaged dehydrated meats and fish are "cooked" at temperatures around 160 F. in the drying process, so you can assume not-raw if nothing specific is stated on the label. You can easily dry your own to assure rawness if you need dried meat for any purpose.

[Inger]

I ate dehydrated meat pretty often.. for years.. i made it myself tho. Now i practically do not eat it anymore, i am sure fresh or aged is better for health.
Still i had an AGE level of a 5 year old as i measured it last fall.

Another rawfooder i know of measured hers too, she is just a tad bit older than me but had pretty much higher AGE level even if hers was good too for her age. Bush she eats omnivore raw food and only a small amount of fish and meat, so quite some fruits. I believe sugar is worse for AGE formation... and sugar from fruit is almost as bad as white sugar for the body i guess

[eveheart]

I believe sugar is worse for AGE formation... and sugar from fruit is almost as bad as white sugar for the body i guess

I agree with this, especially in terms of social eating, meaning that I do not shun the occasional cooked meat, but I never eat what SAD considers normal amounts sugars. Eating at home is the best, but it's good to have personal guidelines for social eating situations. You can find your own tolerance levels, but remember that tolerance just means that you don't notice the damage that is being done on your insides.