Researchers have newly discovered a surprising and potentially significant reason why eating foods frequently cooked at high temperatures, such as red meat and deep-fried fare, elevates cancer risk. The alleged culprit: DNA within the food that's been damaged by the cooking process.

Researchers have newly discovered a surprising and potentially significant reason why eating foods frequently cooked at high temperatures, such as red meat and deep-fried fare, elevates cancer risk. The alleged culprit: DNA within the food that’s been damaged by the cooking process.

  • tinwhiskers
    3•1 year ago

    Kinda surprising that the DNA isn’t entirely destroyed in the digestive system. Any thoughts on why this may have evolved, or do you think it’s more of a bug? Is not like burned food would have been a common source for increasing genetic diversity in earlier organisms.

  • CapitalMinutia
    1•1 year ago

    Perhaps it’s just like proteins into amino acids - digestion just breaks it as far as necessary, not into the smallest pieces.

    So the nucleotides are usable by our bodies, therefore no need to break down into further components.