This summer we have been blessed with some pretty darn good weather and along with the fun in the sun is the good old American bar-b-que. Growing up in New York, I use to always look forward to the summer for the season of grilling my favorite food,...MEAT! Unfortunately, as I got older and wiser and transformed into the current health nut that I currently am, I have been cutting down on bar-b-ques due to the carcinogens on charred meat. That’s right,..the blackened areas that some people actually think is a necessity to give that “grilled” flavor. Now I don’t mean to be an alarmist and scare everyone into not enjoying this summer past time and the charred portions of the meat are obviously not going to kill you right away. But the fact is that there are two cancer causing substances that we should all be aware of. The first are heterocyclic amines (HCAs) which are created when amino acids from muscle meats such as pork, beef, and poultry are burned at high temperatures. The second carcinogens are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which enter the meat through smoke that’s created when fat drips on the hot coals.
Some ways to avoid these problems:
Trim the excess fat from your meat before you put it on the grill. This will help keep the fat from dripping onto the hot coals. It also helps to try to buy the leanest cuts if the meats are conventional (which means the meats probably have some degree of hormones and antibiotics and therefore higher levels of toxins which are also stored within the fat tissue).
Avoid putting meat on the grill as soon as you fire it up. Let the coals burn for a while until the flames die down a bit to avoid excessive high heat from the initial high flames.
Use tongs instead of a fork to move the meats around. Using a fork will pierce the meat and allow more juices and fat to drip onto the coals creating PAHs.
Marinate your meat. The marinade forms a psuedo-protective layer between your meat and the flame reducing the amount of HCAs.
Buy the best quality meats if you can find them. Organic, grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, and at the very least all natural meats are better than conventional meats. Natural just means that no hormones or antibiotics were used in the animal, whereas organic means that no pesticides or synthetic chemicals were used in the animal feeds. Personally I would avoid hot dogs unless they were organic/natural with no preservatives, by-products, and junk.
Also, if you’re going to eat all that meat, make sure you get a ton of vegetables with your grilling fare. Vegetables are loaded with antioxidants and health promoting phytonutrients as well as fiber to balance out the high protein meat fest.
So go out there, be healthy, enjoy the summer, get some meat on the grill!
