Barbecuing Tonight?

"There's nothing quite like creating delicious, nutritious meals in the great outdoors. If  you find that your food tastes better when it hits a red-hot grill, whether gas-powered or charcoal, it's not your imagination."

"In fact, it has a name: the Maillard Reaction, which is when the heat from your grill breaks down the proteins in your food into amino acids, which react with the carbohydrates in the food, making it more flavourful."

"But as delicious as barbecuing your favourite food is, the way you prepare and grill it could increase your risk for certain types of cancer."

Andy De Santis, RD, healthing.ca

Columbia University Department of Surgery

It could be a little more hygienic when using your barbecue to place a stainless steel rack over the grill in your barbecue when using it to ensure that nothing gross you may have overlooked in cleaning the grill remained. That stainless steel rack can be removed with each use, left in the sink under soapy water briefly, cleaned off with a Brillo pad, then stuck in the dishwasher along with your dishes, each time you use the barbecue. 

That's just the hygienic element, the aspect of cleaning up before and after. Far more serious and to the point is what you may be doing to the food you eat to change its nutritional goodness to a delicious, but potentially cancer-causing state by over-exposing the food, be it meat or vegetables, to high heat resulting in charred food. That may hit the taste buds delightfully in some people's gustatory opinion, but present a risk of contracting cancer.

Any biological compound that may comprise an increased risk of causing cancer is referred to as a carcinogen. Such carcinogens work by damaging living tissue. In grilling meat, two types of carcinogens can be produced (vegetables too, to a lesser degree are susceptible to the same dangerous alterations): heterocyclic amines (HCA), forming when meat, fish and poultry is grilled at high temperatures, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which form when fat drips from the meat onto the flame; the resulting chemicals infuse the smoke that sticks to the meat.

 

HCAs form by mixing amino acids and creatine, specific to meat. However, charring vegetables produces carcinogens such as benzopyrene, a carcinogen typically found in cigarette smoke. There's a useful antidote that can be practised to flavour and tenderize meat, while also acting as a safety barrier in reducing the formation of carcinogenic compounds on meat. The use of a combination of vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, spices and oil can represent that magical do-it-all formula.

A study found that three herbal marinades were effective in lowering HCAs: a) rosemary and thyme mixed with pepper, allspice and salt, b) oregano mixed with thyme, garlic and onion; and c) oregano mixed with garlic, basil, onion and parsley. Placing food in the grill centre, trimming away visible fat also helps to reduce the formation of HCAs and PAHs.

The important thing to bear in mind is the greater exposure to high heat with meat ending up charred, the greater opportunity for HCAs and PAHs to accumulate and that you will be exposed to. Avoiding the use of very high heat or large flames in cooking meat is therefore critical. Vegetables should be handled the very same way to avoid carcinogenic exposure risks.

Consuming no more than 12 oz of red meat weekly minimizes risk of colorectaal cancer, the third most common cause of cancer in Canada, according to a 2017 study in the journal Gastroenterology. That works out to the equivalent of two six-ounce servings or one single 12 oz.steak weekly. The risk of colorectal cancer and other health conditions such as diabetes and liver disease is posed with the consumption of processed meats like sausages and hotdogs; they too should be limited on the dinner plate.

And then there's a study in the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery which published findings that about 1,700 Americans needed emergency room attention after ingesting wire bristles stuck to food illuminating the risks inherent in using a wire brush on barbecue grills. Try a wooden scraper or pumice stone in place of the wire bristle brush. And think about that stainless steel removable rack.

In summation:

1. Avoid flame flare-ups. ...
2. Marinate meat for 30 minutes before grilling – several studies suggest marinating meat leads to fewer HCAs.
3. Limit portion sizes. ...
4. Choose leaner cuts of meats. ...
5. Do not overcook* or burn meat. ...
6. Switch to fruits and vegetables.

Healthing.ca