Toast has been giving us cancer for 30,000 years! ...maybe

The history of toast begins, of course, with bread. The earliest archaeological evidence of flour dates back some 30,000 years, and it’s likely people were making flatbreads around that time, too. Evidence suggests that we may have even toasted them.

Along with being a staple food in many civilizations (Greek and Egyptian) ritual bread (toast) was sometimes used as an offering to the gods in Ancient Greece.

It’s likely that toast originated as a way to preserve bread rather than as a tasty breakfast item smothered in butter and jam. By scorching slices of bread, they lasted longer as a palatable food.

Centuries later scientists discovered that toast or burnt food may in fact cause cancer. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. But why? A chemical called Acrylamide forms from strachy foods when they're burnt or toasted.

Acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer in rodents and is considered a human carcinogen. Not only this, but it is also found in cigarette smoke. However many tests have mixed results.

When food is cooked at high temperatures, glucose and fructose react with amino acid and asparagines to form acrylamide. It is also majorly used in many industrial processes including plastic and paper production. And exposure to acrylamide is known to be dangerous to the nervous systems of both animals and humans.

So should you stop eating burnt toast?
Currently, it’s unclear exactly how acrylamide may affect cancer development and growth in humans. The rodents in testing were fed nothing but burnt food.

However, eating burnt toast is unlikely to cause cancer when consumed in moderation as part of a healthy, well-rounded diet.

Therefore, it may not be necessary to eliminate burnt toast from your diet completely. So unless you have a habit of eating several pieces of burnt toast a day, you shouldn't worry too much.