Making Your Barbecue Cancer-Free with Tips from Princeton Longevity Center
Princeton Longevity Center, experts in Preventive Medicine, release 10 tips for reducing your risk of cancer, heart disease and other health complications that can be associated with cooking meats at high temperature.
Princeton, NJ, May 25, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Cooking any animal protein (including beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish or whatever critter you choose to grill) at a high temperature causes the amino acids to react with creatine, a component of muscle, to form a group of cancer-causing chemicals known as Heterocyclic Amines (HCA). These compounds form just about any time meat is cooked at a temperature above 300 degrees F. The higher the cooking temperature and the longer the meat is cooked, the more HCA is formed. One gram of rare steak may have as little as 2.5 nanograms of HCA. Cook that same steak to well done and it will have 10 times more HCA (30 ng).
Chicken is even worse. A blackened grilled chicken breast may have as much as 480 ng of HCA, nearly 200 times as much as a steak, at least in the well done portion of the meat.
HCA’s have been linked to increased cancer risk. A 2002 study found a 70% increase in colon cancer risk in people who ate an average of 2 ounces of well-done meat a day. Another study in 1998 looked at 42,000 women in Iowa and found that those who liked their steaks, hamburgers and bacon very well-done were 4.62 times as likely to get breast cancer compared to women who liked their meat medium or rare. However, other studies have not found an increase in cancer related to over-cooked meats.
There may also be health risks related to the products of combustion from your grill. Incompletely burned wood or charcoal produces another class of chemicals known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH).
Many commercially available charcoals contain additives to help light the charcoal and to keep it burning evenly. These additives can form PAH when burned, as can the lighter fluid many of us use to start up a grill.
Here are some suggestions that should help to substantially minimize the production of HCA and PAH without taking the fun and taste out of your barbecue:
1. Use a gas grill. Gas burns more completely than charcoal and creates fewer PAH’s to coat the food.
2. Use a natural charcoal without additives and avoid using lighter fluid. Start the fire with an electric heater or some kindling. Use a natural charcoal that does not contain any petroleum products
3. Use lower temperatures. The higher the temperature, the more HCA produced in the meat. Using a medium heat will help to avoid the charring that creates the highest levels of HCA.
4. Don’t overcook. Rare or medium-rare is both tastier and safer. If you really need your meat well-done you can minimize the amount of time needed over the heat by cooking smaller pieces or even partially pre-cooking it in an oven or microwave. The less time spent over direct, high heat on the grill, the safer the meat.
5. Marinate. Not only will you add more flavor and help to tenderize your meat, the increase in moisture can reduce the formation of HCA’s as much as 90%. Even a quick marinade just before cooking can make a substantial difference.
6. Flip often. More frequent turning helps to avoid over-heating and burning the outside. This will reduce HCA formation.
7. Trim the fat. Flare-ups on the grill create PAH’s and the blackening of the meat that results is high in HCA’s. Use lean cuts of meat on the grill to minimize dripping fat.
8. Move away from the flare-ups. When fat starts to drip, move the meat away from the flare-ups. Those high flames may look dramatic on TV cooking shows are not healthy cooking.
9. Grill some veggies. All sorts of vegetables and fruits taste great when grilled. And, they don’t form toxic chemicals when exposed to high heat. Filling up with some great grilled veggies also helps to reduce your meat intake, which is even healthier.
10. Have some wine. The anti-oxidants in wine may provide at least a partial antidote to the HCA and PAH.
Authored by Dr. David Fein
Princeton Longevity Center
Founder and Medical Director
Dr. Fein is a noted resource on topics including:
Executive Physicals, Preventive Medicine, Heart Attack Prevention, Cardiac CT and CT Angiography, and other health related topics specific to living longer.
###
Chicken is even worse. A blackened grilled chicken breast may have as much as 480 ng of HCA, nearly 200 times as much as a steak, at least in the well done portion of the meat.
HCA’s have been linked to increased cancer risk. A 2002 study found a 70% increase in colon cancer risk in people who ate an average of 2 ounces of well-done meat a day. Another study in 1998 looked at 42,000 women in Iowa and found that those who liked their steaks, hamburgers and bacon very well-done were 4.62 times as likely to get breast cancer compared to women who liked their meat medium or rare. However, other studies have not found an increase in cancer related to over-cooked meats.
There may also be health risks related to the products of combustion from your grill. Incompletely burned wood or charcoal produces another class of chemicals known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH).
Many commercially available charcoals contain additives to help light the charcoal and to keep it burning evenly. These additives can form PAH when burned, as can the lighter fluid many of us use to start up a grill.
Here are some suggestions that should help to substantially minimize the production of HCA and PAH without taking the fun and taste out of your barbecue:
1. Use a gas grill. Gas burns more completely than charcoal and creates fewer PAH’s to coat the food.
2. Use a natural charcoal without additives and avoid using lighter fluid. Start the fire with an electric heater or some kindling. Use a natural charcoal that does not contain any petroleum products
3. Use lower temperatures. The higher the temperature, the more HCA produced in the meat. Using a medium heat will help to avoid the charring that creates the highest levels of HCA.
4. Don’t overcook. Rare or medium-rare is both tastier and safer. If you really need your meat well-done you can minimize the amount of time needed over the heat by cooking smaller pieces or even partially pre-cooking it in an oven or microwave. The less time spent over direct, high heat on the grill, the safer the meat.
5. Marinate. Not only will you add more flavor and help to tenderize your meat, the increase in moisture can reduce the formation of HCA’s as much as 90%. Even a quick marinade just before cooking can make a substantial difference.
6. Flip often. More frequent turning helps to avoid over-heating and burning the outside. This will reduce HCA formation.
7. Trim the fat. Flare-ups on the grill create PAH’s and the blackening of the meat that results is high in HCA’s. Use lean cuts of meat on the grill to minimize dripping fat.
8. Move away from the flare-ups. When fat starts to drip, move the meat away from the flare-ups. Those high flames may look dramatic on TV cooking shows are not healthy cooking.
9. Grill some veggies. All sorts of vegetables and fruits taste great when grilled. And, they don’t form toxic chemicals when exposed to high heat. Filling up with some great grilled veggies also helps to reduce your meat intake, which is even healthier.
10. Have some wine. The anti-oxidants in wine may provide at least a partial antidote to the HCA and PAH.
Authored by Dr. David Fein
Princeton Longevity Center
Founder and Medical Director
Dr. Fein is a noted resource on topics including:
Executive Physicals, Preventive Medicine, Heart Attack Prevention, Cardiac CT and CT Angiography, and other health related topics specific to living longer.
###
Contact
Princeton Longevity Center
Andrea Lanza
(888) 8000-PLC
www.PrincetonLongevityCenter.com
Andrea Lanza
(888) 8000-PLC
www.PrincetonLongevityCenter.com
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