Health Tips: Can cooking roti on direct flame cause harm to health? know here...

Health Tips: Roti or Chapati is an important part of Indian food, which is definitely eaten in almost all meals. The roti is usually cooked for some time on a griddle and then cooked completely with the help of tongs directly on the flame of the stove. There is some research that suggests high-heat cooking can produce heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are known carcinogens. Let's find out what new research has to say about this method of baking bread.

New research on bread
According to new research published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, natural gas stoves, and natural gas stoves emit carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter, which WHO does not consider safe for health. All these pollutants are also responsible for many types of cancer along with respiratory and heart-related diseases. Not only this, another study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Cancer suggests that cooking on high heat produces carcinogens. So we have to think of cooking chapati directly on the gas flame.

Pan bread
While cooking roti, many people press the roti placed on the griddle with a cloth, due to which the roti gets cooked from all sides and does not have to be kept directly on the gas flame. However, ever since the advent of chimta, people cook and roti on a griddle and roast the rest on a direct flame. It also makes roti quickly.

Roasting bread on direct heat
According to a report published in 2011 by Dr. Paul Brent, Chief Scientist at Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, when bread is exposed to gas flame, it produces a chemical called acrylamide, which is responsible for the cooking process. It is produced when sugar and certain amino acids are heated together. Although, this report was based on burnt toast, but wheat flour also contains some level of natural sugar and protein, which produces carcinogenic chemicals when heated, which is not safe for health to consume.

So shouldn't roti be cooked on direct flame?
If we look at recent research, it is not considered safe to eat chapatis by roasting them on direct flame. However, some more studies are needed to know its dangers in depth.