More flavor, less danger
Reducing acrylamide formation in foods with rosemary.
The information I passed along to you a few months ago about acrylamide (11/14/07 eTip, subject line “Hot potato”) struck quite a nerve — and rightly so. This potentially cancerous chemical is surprisingly common, since it occurs as the result of heating starchy foods, particularly potatoes. Even the baked variety, which we’ve been conditioned to think of as the healthy way to eat potatoes, contain an unsettling amount of the byproduct.
So it’s no wonder that since that tip went out we’ve received dozens of e-mails from people concerned about their safety and wondering if they should ban potatoes from their diets altogether. At first, that did seem like the best solution. But some new research from Denmark shows that there may be a way to have your potato and eat it too.
Researchers from the Technical University of Denmark and the country’s National Food Institute found that adding rosemary to foods before they’re cooked dramatically reduces the amount of acrylamide formed during the process. While the researchers tested rosemary by adding it to bread dough, the effects would likely be the same with potatoes.
When they added rosemary to dough before baking it at roughly 425 degrees (Farenheit), acrylamide levels were 60 percent lower than in “plain” bread. And it didn’t take much of the herb to produce the acrylamide-squelching effects: Just 1 percent of the total amount of dough contained the rosemary. In fact, adding more didn’t decrease the acrylamide content any further (though if you like the flavor of the herb, adding more wouldn’t have a negative effect).
The researchers also found that two flavonoids found in green tea can reduce acrylamide content in foods as well, but, somehow, dousing my potatoes in tea before baking or roasting them doesn’t sound nearly as appealing as adding a dash of rosemary.
Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that even though rosemary helps fend off a significant amount of acrylamide, it doesn’t block 100 percent of the chemical. So while you don’t have to give up potatoes entirely, it’s certainly not a bad idea to cut back on the number you eat. Not only will it help keep your acrylamide exposure to a minimum, but limiting your potato intake will also help keep you closer to the original human diet that Dr. Wright recommends. (For more information on Dr. Wright’s dietary recommendations, refer back to the January 2003 issue of Nutrition & Healing. Subscribers can download this issue for free by visiting www.nutritionandhealing.com on logging on to the Archive with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent newsletter.)
Source:
“A little rosemary can go a long way in reducing acrylamide in food,” ScienceDaily (www.sciencedaily.com), 2/29/08
