It's no secret that red meat and fried foods aren't great for your health, but Stanford scientists have discovered a new potential mechanism for why. The team found that cooking food at high heat damages its DNA, and that in turn could damage your own DNA, raising the risk of cancer and other health problems. While red meat has some nutritional value, higher consumption has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and other chronic illnesses. The WHO classifies it as a Group 2A "probable" carcinogenic, thanks to cancer-causing chemicals and molecules that can form during processing or even cooking. In a new study, scientists at Stanford report a previously unknown potential mechanism by which meat and fried foods could increase a consumer's cancer risk.