Cooked danger
It is now a well-known fact that cooked meat contains substances that can cause cancer. One type in particular has been intensely studied – heterocyclic amines – and the latest study focusing on a heterocyclic amine called PhIP has shed more light on why exactly is this substance so dangerous. The authors of this study performed a series of experiments and tests and found out that PhIP can not only damage the DNA (and therefore cause cancer) but it also has a strong estrogen-like effect. That means that hormone sensitive cancer cells such as those in breasts can become much more invasive and cause cancer to grow and spread at an accelerated rate.
Lauber, S.N., Gooderham, N.J., 2011. The cooked meat-derived mammary carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine promotes invasive behaviour of breast cancer cells. Toxicology. 279: 139-145.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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