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@kbin.social
    4·
    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@kbin.social
    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.