BBQ Cooking: Does Grilling Cause Cancer?
Barbecue is sometimes promoted as a healthier style of cooking. When compared to cooking methods like frying which have long been considered extremely unhealthy, grilling appears to be less fatty.
Along with reducing fat intake, barbecue may limit exposure to dangerous compounds created when cooking oil is heated.
Usually, barbecuing takes place outdoors, which
means it won’t normally affect indoor air quality. Even with all those
benefits, there are some serious concerns about cooking foods — especially meat
— over an open flame. The main concern is cancer.
How Barbecue Might Increase Cancer
Risk
When meat is heated over an open flame, there is the potential for two sets of carcinogenic compounds to form. Creatine is an organic acid in meat prized by bodybuilders and that may have various health benefits and one major downside.
The downside is that it turns
into cancer-causing heterocyclic amines (HCAs) when heated. The other
carcinogenic compound shows up when the fat from cooking meat drips down onto
hot coals. The burning fat rises as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in
the smoke and sticks to the meat.
At this point, it is important to note that neither of the
above chemicals has been proven to cause cancer in humans. They have caused
cancer in lab animals at higher doses than humans are likely to consume. There
is also an association between grilled meat intake and a precursor of colon
cancer known as colorectal adenoma.
How to Lower the Cancer Risk of
Barbecued Meat
The first step that some experts suggest is to avoid
charcoal as a cooking fuel given the risk of PAHs being created. Given that
there is no proof of charcoal being more likely to cause cancer than any other
cooking fuel, grill cooks may want to try one of two other suggested methods
for lowering cancer risk:
Marination
Marinating meat is good for more than just tenderness and
flavor. Marination appears to lower the cancer risk from grilled meats.
Researchers found that marinating meat for at least 20 minutes before grilling
lowered the concentration of carcinogenic compounds by 72 percent according to
one study. One contributing factor to the health benefits of marinades may be
the presence of herbs that contain powerful antioxidants.
Microwaving
By microwaving meat before grilling it, it is possible to
release some of the fat. The fat is what causes the barbecue flare-ups and
generates the PAHs. Microwaving also lessens the time the meat has to spend
over the flame. Less time means less exposure to carcinogens.
Leaner Cuts
The cancer risk from consuming grilled meat may be reduced
with leaner cuts. There isn’t as much fat in the leaner meat, so there will be
less to melt and drip onto the coals and produce the PAHs.
Clean The Grill
The accumulation of charred gunk on grill grates may lead to
some of the compounds being transferred to food. The danger can be limited by a
thorough cleaning of grates with each cooking session.
Line the Grill
Protecting meat from carcinogens in burning fat makes it
safer to eat. A cook can reduce the amount of fat that gets to the coals by
lining grill grates with foil. To ensure that the meat does get some flavor
benefits from the smoke and for better ventilation, the cook can poke some
holes in the foil.
Whether or not cooking over an open flame increases cancer
risk, it makes sense to be aware of the danger and take precautions just in
case. The simple steps above may help to keep exposure low.
References:
- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452244/
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15199546/
- pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf404966w