WEBVTT - Can grilling meat really cause cancer?

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff today for details. Hi, I'm Marshall brain with

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<v Speaker 1>today's question. Is it true that grilling meat can cause cancer?

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<v Speaker 1>If you've read the how stuff Works article on how

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<v Speaker 1>cancer works, then you know that there are many different

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<v Speaker 1>things that can cause cancer. You would think that cooking

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<v Speaker 1>meat over an open flame would not be one of

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<v Speaker 1>those things. However, unfortunately, it does appear that grilling, broiling,

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<v Speaker 1>or frying meat produces substances that do have a connection

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<v Speaker 1>to cancer. Heat has a general party of allowing chemicals

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<v Speaker 1>to change from one form to another. You see this

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<v Speaker 1>happen whenever you cook an egg. The heat changes the

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<v Speaker 1>proteins in the egg and solidifies them. In the case

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<v Speaker 1>of meat, high temperatures convert things like fat in the

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<v Speaker 1>meat into substances called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

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<v Speaker 1>are groups of benzene rings, and like benzine itself, these

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<v Speaker 1>rings can be modified in the body to produce new

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<v Speaker 1>chemicals that do damage DNA. How much of a risk

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<v Speaker 1>does well done meat represent It seems like it is

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<v Speaker 1>a noticeable difference. For example, women who eat a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of well done meat seem to have a much higher

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<v Speaker 1>rate of breast cancer. If you want to avoid these

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<v Speaker 1>risks completely, boiling meat is a good way to prepare it.

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