What does pancreatic cancer and obesity have in common?

Answer: Hot meat! Interesting this week’s news let us know that we all have something known as brown fat that protects us from obesity. And more interesting it is stimulated by being cold. The cooler you are the more brown fat you develop and the less risk for obesity. So turn down the heat and cool your buns.
The same holds true for the meat we eat. Research this just released has proven the long held belief that charred overdone, well-cooked hot meat is also dangerous. In fact it increases the risk of pancreatic cancer by 60% according to University of Minnesota..

“Our findings in this study are further evidence that turning down the heat when grilling, frying, and barbecuing to avoid excess burning or charring of the meat may be a sensible way for some people to lower their risk for getting pancreatic cancer,” said Kristin Anderson of the University of Minnesota, who led the study. Meat that is baked, stewed or cooked at lower temperatures does not form carcinogens, she added.

The study tracked the eating habits of 62 581 healthy people over nine years, after which 208 cases of pancreatic cancer were found.

So there are two more reasons for turning down the heat.

And here is a page from my book The Complete Guide to Energy Conservation for Smarties that gives a little bit more information about turning down the heat.

Turn down the thermostat: In cooler areas turn the temperature down to 65 degrees Fahrenheit during the day when you’re home and 55 degrees at night and during days when no one is home. Make a habit of wearing sweaters or thermal undershirts. For every one-degree you turn your home’s thermostat down you will save three percent of your energy bill. By lowering your thermostat five degrees at night and ten degrees during the day when you’re away you can cut as much as 20 percent of your heating costs. Carbon savings are about 350 pounds per year for every two-degree reduction.
According to Edison Electric Institute, by lowering the heat five degrees for eight hours at night and ten degrees for eight hours during the day you will save about 3,150 pounds of GHG emissions annually.
Turn up the thermostat: In summer if you must use central air conditioning set the temperature to 78 degrees. For each degree of a higher setting you can expect your cooling costs to decrease by about six to eight percent. For every three degrees you increase the temperature will save 378 pounds of CO2 per year. Amaaaazing, isn’t it?