Health Risks Associated with Grilling Food

You
may want to sit up straight, and pay attention to what I am going to
tell you next. It may seem insignificant when you ignorantly chow down
your EXTRA grilled beef liver. But you would be surprised to know how it
is slowly creating havoc in your cellular balance.

As a kid, my
grandma would always have her advices for me. She said things beyond my
understanding but I always remembered them. One day, my mother grilled
the chicken wings a little too much. My grandma threw the entire
contents of my plate into a garbage bag. I was heartbroken, but she
said, I would put my health at a risk if I eat overly grilled food. I
pretty much remember her telling me that the black crust could cause
cancer. Grilling is a method of cooking that roasts your food without
the need of any additional frying agents like animal fats or oil. Direct
heat is used to cook the food from both sides on a grill at a
temperature ranging between 500 degrees F and 1,000 degrees F. It is
mainly used to barbeque meats, fish and poultry or the MPF foods. It is
one of the most recommended types of cooking for people who are aiming
at weight loss. No added oils to cook makes it a favorite among people
who want to relish low-fat food.

Popular Forms of Grilling
According to legends, prehistoric man first learned to eat roasted food by eating the flesh of animals killed in a forest fire.

Broiling is a form of grilling wherein the source of heat is located above the food.
Char-grilling is essentially grilling that uses coal or charcoal as a medium of heat to cook food.
Barbecuing is a socializing trend soon catching up among people as a
great idea for a friendly get together. Most of us have been to at
least one barbeque evening.
Other forms include grid-ironing,
charcoal kettle-grilling, flattop grilling, stove-top pan grilling and
grill-braising. However, scientists have now discovered that grilling
your food may be putting you at a major health risk.

Health Risks of Grilling Food
According
to research, excessive grilling for long durations at a high heating
point changes the chemical makeup of food and develops carcinogens,
cancer-causing agents. The formation of two compounds, Hetero-cyclic
Amines (HAs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) , leads to
development of stomach and colon cancer on consumption of foods that
they bind to. It interferes with the DNA structure of your body and
stimulate the production of cancer-causing cells.

Dangers of Grilling Meat
When
you grill food, the only barrier between the source of heat and food
are the grills. Over-heating causes animal fat to melt, drip off your
food and melt on to the medium of heat, generally coal. At a temperature
of 400 degrees F, too much heat leads to the transformation of amino
acids present in muscle tissues in the meat into HAs and PAHs that
vaporize due to the heat. These are one of the most catastrophic
carcinogens. As the smoke rises and settles on to the food, these
chemicals attach to your food. The brown-black spots are over-grilled
parts of your food that contain the most amount of HAs and PAHs. But,
the formation of HAs has only been observed in protein based food like
meat. These mutagens provoke cardiomyopathy, a degenerative heart
condition of tissue inflammation and destruction, which is an aging
disorder in reality. However, scientists are still investigating to
factually confirm this observation in humans.

As a matter of
fact, people, among who the consumption of grilled meats is higher, have
a greater rate of pancreatic disorder, liver, breast and rectal cancer.
Even if you are the not eating it, but doing the cooking, the chemicals
are present in the fumes and easily enter your respiratory system. But I
must also add, that it is only harmful when done for days and not just a
few hours. Even though beef is a lot richer in fat content as compared
to chicken, deep fried beef contains much lesser HAs and PAHs as
compared to grilled chicken.

Grilling it Safe
You do not have
to fear grilling because it is still safe to eat grilled food. After
all, it is only a variation of roasting, the first cooking method
discovered by man. However, there are some safe grilling techniques that
you could practice to avoid the health risks associated with grilling.

Choose lean and healthy meat cuts for your barbeque sessions. Low
fat helps ensure reduced dripping of animal fat on the coal, thereby,
minimizing the development of carcinogens.
Do not grill meat for long periods.
Reduce portion size of meat.
Always clean cooking equipments post-grilling immediately to prevent bacteria from breeding on them.
Do not consume the over-grilled parts of your food even if it is not
meat. HAs form on meat products but PAHs can form on all kinds of food
during excessive roasting. Even your vegetarian kebabs and skewers
contain the risk.
If you are using a microwave or oven for
grilling, make sure you preheat them well, at least 10-15 minutes to
reduce cooking time.
To grill fish, you can wrap it in an aluminum foil and keep it chemical free.
Supplement your food with antioxidants by marinating meat with lemon
or orange juice, vinegar and red wine. Have a fruits and vegetables
salad as a side-dish.

Think about all the greenhouse gases and
soot particles that grilling produces. It not just affect your health
but it mixes up and stays within the atmospheric layer of the
environment. The greater your barbecue meat stays in contact with flame
and smoke, the more will be the carcinogen content on it. You could use a
grilling machine that has a filter to block out smoke and prevent it
from coming in contact with your food. If it suits you, you could
substitute grilling with frying using avocado and safflower oil as they
have a high smoke point. Also, it would be great health etiquette to
reduce the portion size of those hamburgers. As the saying goes, "What
you eat is what you become!"

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