re barbecued foods and health risk while in grad school i remember a biochemistry friend of mine working with heat shock proteins apparently burning protein will induce changes in he dna whether these changes survive the denaturing that occurs during digestion i don t know but i never eat burnt food because of this also many woods contain toxins as they are burnt it would seem logical that some may volatilise and get into the bbqed food again i don t know if these toxins antifungal and anti woodeater compounds would survive the rather harsh conditions of the stomach and intestine and then would they be able to cross the intestinal mucosa maybe someone with more biochemical background than myself which is almost anyone can shed some light on heat shock proteins and the toxins that may be in the wood used to make charcoal and bbq anne marie rousseau e mail rousseaua immunex com what i say has nothing to do with immunex
