More dangers from overcooked meat I've said for years that foods need to be eaten as close to raw as possible if you want to get the maximum amount of nutrients. The "closer to raw" rule doesn't just apply to vegetables - but to meat and eggs as well. But the key difference between overcooked veggies and overcooked meats is that over- doing veggies makes them flavorless and nutritionally bereft, while overcooking meat makes it flavorless… and dangerous. The possible carcinogenic effects of overcooking meat and eggs are fairly well documented. Cooking eggs and meat at high temperatures produces a chemical compound called PhIP, which many believe can cause DNA changes, or can metabolize harmless bodily enzymes into carcinogens - especially those that cause breast cancer. Now, a new report by researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Masonic Cancer Center claims that regular consumption of well-done, charred meats could boost the risk of pancreatic cancer by a frightening 60 percent. This new research indicated that overcooking also created heterocyclic amines (H.A.s), which contribute to increased risk of pancreatic cancer, an especially lethal cancer. H.A.s are generated by the high-temperature immolation of amino acids. The researchers suggested maintaining low heat while grilling, frying or barbecuing in order to cut down on "excess burning or charring of the meat." Doing so will help cut down on the cancer risk, since the burned portions have the highest HA concentrations. This is something you should keep in mind before you fire up the backyard barbeque. But by all means, don't let it stop you from eating meat. You just need to think twice about how long you cook it. I don't need to tell you prescription prices are through the roof. But here's what you might not know: Big Pharma is buying off the competition so they can keep their prices sky high. It ought to be criminal - and if the Federal Trade Commission has anything to say about it - it soon will be. Brand-name drugs have a set amount of time during which they have exclusive rights on a certain formula. After this time, it's up for grabs. At that point, other drug companies are free to produce the same drug, but without the slick brand name. Generic pharmaceuticals are generally significantly cheaper than their brand-name counterparts. But the brand-name makers do so well with their inflated profits that they can afford to pay other drug makers millions NOT to produce generic forms of the drugs - leaving you no choice but to pay an arm and a leg for certain medications. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), that alone is costing consumers an extra $3.5 billion a year. And since the government pays for about one third of all prescription drug costs, it costs Uncle Sam about 1.2 billion extra per year. No wonder the government is stepping in to put a stop to these pay-for-delay deals. | 
