Jun 6, 2007

Grilling Causes Cancer?

An article from the daily green website

Really? Grilling Causes Cancer?

Ever since 2005, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its 11th Report on Carcinogens, there has been a simmering concern among summer-fun loving grilling enthusiasts: Does grilling meat cause cancer?

That’s because a byproduct of the searing heat, called heterocyclic amines, may increase the risk of developing some cancers. That browned appearance on meat, fish and poultry is the culprit and the same concerns apply to fried foods and any other cooking method that applies the heat directly, rather than via a liquid stew or steamy air.

And cooking anything releases smoke, laced with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are ubiquitous in urban environments anyway, but which also can end up in minute quantities in grilled foods. Those, too, are linked to cancer.

What’s a grill lover to do? Restraint and moderation are probably the best antidote to the worry.

3 comments:

Karin W. said...

Yes, Mary. Like everything else in life, moderation is key,

Well done or charred meats pose the highest risk.

Summer in Sweden means cookouts and barbecues too. However, I try to prevent charring the meat. (On the charcoal grill allowing the flames to go down after lighting. On a gas grill, raise the grill rack, away from the heat).

Mary said...

Hi Karin,
thanks for your comment. I hope these messages can get to people and practice them.
Have a lovely weekend.

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