I’m a fan of summer. The beach, the outdoors, more sunshine… not to mention backyard cookouts featuring our favorite mouth-watering BBQ on the grill.
While I love a good barbecue (I am a Southern girl, after all), grilling recipes don’t always make for the healthiest meal. For one, most of us grill more meat than veggies, and second, charring food just isn’t the healthiest way to eat it.
Before you think I’m a total killjoy, hear me out… I am not suggesting we quit our backyard BBQs! Far from it. There are things we can do to reduce the health hazards of grilling, and many delicious grilling recipes that involve plenty of veggies.
Basically, a few simple changes in the way you grill can make all the difference!
In the hot days of summer, cooking out-of-doors just makes sense. Unfortunately, the process of cooking over a high-heat open flame creates chemical reactions that can turn healthy food into a health hazard.
Here’s why:
Cooking meat on high heat can produce chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). HCAs are mutagenic, meaning they change DNA, possibly increasing risk of cancer. HCAs are not formed when cooking on lower heat.
Food (and our bodies) contain advanced glycation end products (AGEs) naturally. But cooking over high heat creates more. A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (JAND) explains that dry high heat increases AGEs in food by 10-100 times.
Grilled foods have more AGEs than foods that are not grilled (even vegetables). But the highest numbers come from grilled foods that contain fat (meat).
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are created when wood, coal, oil, etc aren’t burned completely. They are also created when meat is cooked over high heat and the fat drips into the fire. The smoke that comes from both of these deposits on the food. (You can also breathe them in when standing at the grill.) Since PAHs are linked to GI and lung cancer as well as leukemia, it is best to avoid them.
None of these sound like tasty additions to our backyard meals, so let’s talk about how to minimize the risks.
Avoiding grilled food is an obvious solution here but definitely not a fun choice. Grilling is a staple of summer entertaining and I’d sooner give up my coffee than my backyard barbecue! Luckily there are some options for reducing the health issues surrounding grilled food so we can enjoy summer the way we want to.
When trying to decide between charcoal and gas grills, gas is the better choice. Gas does not create PAHs in the amount that other materials (like charcoal) do. In fact, a 2018 study found that grilling over charcoal created four times more carcinogens than gas.
In addition, it’s easier to control the heat on a gas grill than a charcoal grill so you can keep the heat low to avoid creating HCAs.
However, the same study found that lump charcoal (charcoal created by burning wood, like in a campfire) is less harmful than charcoal briquettes. The reason is probably because there are additional chemicals added to briquettes during manufacturing to keep the charcoal burning evenly. Gas is still the winner by far, but if you must cook with charcoal, make it lump charcoal (and skip the lighter fluid!).
Rather than use charcoal when we camp or go to the beach, we take along this portable gas grill.
Marinating and dry rubbing meat before cooking is a good way to reduce harmful compounds (and they make the food taste amazing too!). Here’s what the science shows:
The lesson here is: always marinate (or dry rub) your meat before grilling. Also, use culinary herbs that have medicinal properties to combat the negative effects of grilling.
Grilling is usually a hot and fast cooking method, which is what gives it the crusty outside and soft inside. But if you plan ahead to have some extra time for grilling, you can reduce some of the risks. HCAs begin to form at 325 degrees, so if we can cook foods at a lower temperature we can avoid them in grilled food.
Additionally, another JAND study found that acidic mediums (like a tomato-based BBQ sauce) and low moist heat stop new AGE formation.
Typical summertime fare usually includes a lot of pasta, potato salad, and other starchy sides. Healthier versions of these sides (ideas below) can change how these toxic compounds affect the body by providing antioxidants that fight oxidative stress and free radicals in the body.