[hutchibk]

HI CL - I have learned over the years that heating almost anything with a high heat and or direct heat can cause carcinogens that shouldn't be ingested. Acrylamide to be specific. I have learned that even burned toast is a bad idea. All meats and fish if heated with a direct high heat cause carcinogens, so grilling or blackening is not healthy...

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/f...ylamideinfoods

From what I have learned from dietary folks is that no oil should be heated to smoking, even if the recipe tells you to. EVOO is too fragile to use as a primary cooking oil. Use other oil (canola perhaps) for higher heat sauteing and cooking. I use some olive oil for cooking, but I also take 3 tbl spoons of it a day, as it is suspected to be active against Her2neu, and it can't possibly hurt me!
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050219/food.asp

and

<li class="body">Health Canada scientists say they have found that adding rosemary can reduce acrylamide levels in both home fries and commercial potato chips by about 25 per cent, while other anti-oxidants had little to no impact. The research, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, also found that potato slices that were fried with olive oil had 50 per cent higher acrylamide levels than those fried with corn oil, although there appears to be little difference between frying in cheap processed olive oil and more expensive virgin olive oil, in terms of acrylamide levels. <li class="body">"Acrylamide Advice: Don’t Burn Your Toast" includes audio of an expert explaining how the risk of acrylamide can be reduced by using different cooking methods.
from http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f...de/can_do.html