Grilled Meat: Good or Bad?

Summer is all about grilling, but many folks are concerned about firing up red meats such as beef and lamb. Here’s the low-down on grilling meat.

The Good
Grilling is a quick and easy way to whip up a weeknight dinner or entertain friends and family. There are many lean cuts of meat that are easy to grill, including lamb tenderloin, strip steak, flank and rib eye. Nutritionally, red meats like beef and lamb are packed with protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins such as niacin, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12.

Marinating meat before grilling helps tenderize and add flavor. Studies have also shown that marinades with little or no sugar also help protect meat from charring and have been shown to reduce heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) formation — compounds that have been linked to cancer.

The Bad
If you love the flavor of charred meat, you may want to reconsider. Charring causes the formation of HAAs, which has been linked to cancer in animal studies. Further, cooking meats over open flames where fat can drip and produce smoke — think grilling — can lead to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs have also been linked to cancer formation.

Grill to perfection and greatly reduce HAAs and PAHs by monitoring your grill’s heat level and the doneness temperature of meat, poultry and fish when cooking.
Luckily, there are ways to minimize the production of HAAs and PAHs, including:
• Don’t press burgers down onto grill grates, where juices can drip and flare.
• Cooking meat over a medium flame (as opposed to a high flame) will help prevent the formation of HAAs while still allowing the internal cooking temperature to be reached.
• Before cooking, remove meat from the marinade and shake off excess. Use a paper towel to pat dry and help promote even browning.
• Avoid sugary glazes and sauces, which can burn easily. If you want to use them, baste the meat the last few minutes on the grill.

The Verdict
Grilling meat is a quick and delicious way to get a meal on the table, however, certain guidelines should be followed in order to help ensure maximum nutrition and minimum cancer risk.

by Toby Amidor in Food and Nutrition Experts, Food Safety, July 26, 2016

GRILLED FOOD and CANCER PROBLEMS

Besides the fact there’s more available information many Americans still do not know that grilling can be unhealthy. The cancer risk from grilling, however, is real, but it changes dramatically with what you grill and how you do it.

The problem with traditional grilling comes from the combination of meat with intense heat. Whether you are using red meat, poultry or seafood, substances in the muscle proteins of these foods react under high heat to form carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). HCAs can damage the DNA of our genes, beginning the process of cancer development.

Consumption of HCAs is mostly clearly linked to cancers of the colon and stomach. One study found that people who eat the most barbecued red meat (beef, pork and lamb) almost doubled their risk of colon polyps, compared to those who did not eat these foods. Colon polyps can develop into colon cancer. Some evidence also suggests that these carcinogenic compounds can travel through the bloodstream to other tissues. This would explain why HCAs could be a factor in breast cancer and other cancers.

So, does Grilling Pose A Cancer Risk?

Grilling is not bad for your health. But it appears that bad grilling may be bad for your health. Bad grilling is the way people grill food including all restaurants.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): “Some studies suggest there may be a cancer risk related to eating food cooked by high-heat cooking techniques as grilling, frying, and broiling. Based on present research findings, eating moderate amounts of grilled meats like fish, meat, and poultry cooked — without charring — to a safe temperature does not pose a problem.”

The keywords are “some studies suggest” and “without charring”. It appears that charring the meat can create compounds called Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) that probably are capable of causing colon cancer, lung cancer, or breast cancer if consumed in excess. But, like so many areas of preliminary research, there is conflicting and contrary information. For example, it is not known how many HCAs are problematic.

According to one of the country’s primary researchers in the field, Dr. Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute “There’s a clear relationship between very high temperatures and the risk of cancer-causing agents.”

Dr. Sinha has some healthy cooking advice that all good chefs can agree with from a tasty cooking standpoint. She says we need to avoid blackening meat on the outside. This charring creates potentially hazardous compounds. And, I might add, it just plain tastes bad.

She says we should avoid flare-ups caused when fat hits the flame. Flare-ups just burn the food and deposit soot on the surface. You can avoid flare-ups by using a gas grill with metal flavor bars between the food and the flame, of by using a 2-zone cooking system on a charcoal grill and by having a squirt gun handy.

Dr. Sinha adds that if there are burned parts of the meat, especially burned fat, just cut them off. “It’s important to help consumers understand how to cook without undercooking or overcooking,” to which the National Cancer Institute (NCI) ads “That’s one more reason to use a food thermometer.” Amen.

In their report on Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats, NCI says “Four factors influence HCA formation: Type of food, cooking method, temperature, and time. HCAs are found in cooked muscle meats; other sources of protein (milk, eggs, tofu, and organ meats such as liver) have very little or no HCA content naturally or when cooked. Temperature is the most important factor in the formation of HCAs. Frying, broiling, and barbecuing produce the largest amounts of HCAs because the meats are cooked at very high temperatures.”

They also added “Researchers found that those who ate their beef medium-well or well-done had more than three times the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate their beef rare or medium-rare.” I might add that well done meat is tougher and drier.

It is important that consumers understand that much of the relationship between HCA and cancer is still not thoroughly understood, that there is a lot of research yet to be done, and that eating burned steak once or twice a year probably isn’t going to make you sick. Nor is eating well done steak. The real message here is that good food is also good for you and that if you’re going to grill, do it right.

AFTER READ THIS YOU CAN CONCLUDE:

GRILLED FOOD IS NOT BAD! BAD IS THE WAY IT IS COOKED!

How many people do it right? None! Some can try to avoid it but, to do it properly some methods need to be used that are not available in the market. However there are some tricks you can use in order to make an Healthy Grilled meal. (Click HERE and your will learn how to make it happen).

HEALTHY GRILL USA IS THE FIRST FOOD PROJECT ABLE TO PROVIDE GRILLED FOOD FREE OF THOSE CARCINOGENS!

Add fruits and veggies to summer grilling routine!

Brussels Grill: Mixed vegetables (Photo credit: batigolix)

 

It never hurts to draw consumers’ attention to the danger of grilled food and how they are prepared and cooked. So that we can contribute positively, it is always important that we share information that will somehow help to minimize the harmful effects resulting from the consumption of inadequately grilled food.

Add fruits and veggies to summer grilling routine!

http://pressrepublican.com/0205_columns/x2026370569/Add-fruits-and-veggies-to-summer-grilling-routine

 

GRILLING AND ITS HEALTH RISKS – From Health Beyond Hype

Memorial day is arriving!

YOU SHOULD READ THIS ARTICLE AND SHARE IT!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

To consolidate the information we want to convey through our blog and so we can clarify increasingly interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we are sharing this article from the Blog – Health Beyond Hype.

http://www.healthbeyondhype.com/info/grilling-and-its-health-risks

As all of you can confirm, what we are posting on our blog it isn’t something we are trying to disclose simply because we have a project to launch in the market that is related but because we feel it our duty to all consumers of grilled foods.

It’s our duty to inform and our proud to be the first worlds project dedicated to bring to the food service market grilled food free of carcinogens.

As part of our project we have three concepts we are ready to launch:

On-Line Grill Store – Prepared for catering and delivery of grill food free of carcinogens to commercial and residential addresses this concept is able to produce over 600 grill meals an hour.

Quick Service Grill Store – Developed to launch in any city, this project will provide fast grill meals free of carcinogens as provide meals for consumers that want to take there to their home. We also will provide all products we use – Meats, Sauces, marinades, etc… – to “To Go”.

Casual Dining Restaurant – Following the other concepts, this one brings to the food service market a with affordable prices and comes in the market place in order to provide consumers with any social class the opportunity they can enjoy a healthy meal of grilled food  free of carcinogens.

This project is definitely more than a business! We are contributing for people’s life improvement!

If you know someone interested in be part of this project, please share our blog and contact.

Facebook : www.facebook.com/healthygrillusa

Email address: healthygrillusa@yahoo.com

Related articles

• Grilled meat and fish might cause cancer (sumantasaha.com)
• Is Barbecuing Really Healthier ? (noshme.wordpress.com)
• GRILLED FOOD and CANCER PROBLEMS as THE RED MEAT CONSUMMATION QUESTION! (healthygrill.wordpress.com)

Restaurants surveyed for 2013 food trend predictions

This article is one more proof that were planing right and we are in the right direction!

http://www.qsrweb.com/article/206319/Restaurants-surveyed-for-2013-food-trend-predictions

Healthy Grill USA will be the only solution on the food service industry providing Grilled Food free of carcinogens – Healthy.

Besides Vegetables, what kind of food can people eat with the assurance that the food is cooked so that it is considered healthy?

And what is the Healthy Food they can find when they look for grill food?

We can’t forget that Grilled Food is the most used and appreciated cooking method and 70% of the US population eats grill food in restaurants more than twice a week.

We are bringing the solution!

– Healthier (Free of any carcinogens), Tastier (Natural flavors) and Juicier (maintaining the minerals) grill food than ever!

The Market is asking for something we have been working on for long time.

Healthy Grill USA not only meets but also exceeds the requirements recommended by major organizations dedicated to the research and treatment of cancerous diseases.

As a result of the contact established with two major national organizations (USA) responsible for research and dissemination of methods to combat cancer, today we received two emails in response.

It’s simply amazing how the idea of grilling food in a traditional way and using the known traditional systems is growing in terms of being considered highly carcinogenic.

On both emails, some articles came as attachments to explain what we have been done for long time.

The first one from the National Cancer Institute:

“This NCI fact sheet explains how certain chemicals are formed in meat that is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling, and describes the results of research on the relationship between consumption of these chemicals and cancer risk.

Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk – http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cooked-meats”

And the second one from the American cancer Society:

“On an extra note, you may like to review our information below that discusses how cooking meat affects cancer risk as well as fish and fats:

Common questions about diet and cancer –
http://www.cancer.org/healthy/eathealthygetactive/acsguidelinesonnutritionphysicalactivityforcancerprevention/acs-guidelines-on-nutrition-and-physical-activity-for-cancer-prevention-common-questions”

Well, after we analyze if there was something new in relation to what existed in all the research and studies done on the subject since the early 70s’ to the present day, we find that nothing has changed.

Yes, we know all that is mentioned in the articles that were sent us. By this fact, we can confirm that, through the concepts of food preparation, the products and the cooking methods we use, the project Healthy Grill USA, is unique.

In the concept of Healthy Grill restaurants, we cook food without producing carcinogenic that are mentioned in articles. For this, the project Healthy Grill USA contemplates becoming the first grill restaurant concept to become a legitimate sponsor of actions and organizations that can contribute to research and fight against cancerous diseases.

One of the articles suggests something in order to reduce the exposure to the HCA/PAH and its consumption by using several cooking methods.

The suggestions are:

1 – Avoiding direct exposure of meat to an open flame or a hot metal surface and avoiding prolonged cooking times (especially at high temperatures) can help reduce HCA and PAH formation.

2 – Using a microwave oven to cook meat prior to exposure to high temperatures can also substantially reduce HCA formation by reducing the time that meat must be in contact with high heat to finish cooking.

3 – Continuously turning meat over on a high heat source can substantially reduce HCA formation compared with just leaving the meat on the heat source without flipping it often.

4 – Removing charred portions of meat and refraining from using gravy made from meat drippings can also reduce HCA and PAH exposure.

Our answers to those suggestions and the result of what we do are:

1 – No, we don’t cook any food exposing it to open flame. The contact with metal surfaces is lower than 0.0393 inches and in some situations 0 inches (simply doesn’t exists). As wide and long is the metal surface, higher chances of producing carcinogens. We control cooking times and temperature levels according to each type of food don’t allowing the production of charred pieces or extreme caramelization.

No commercial known restaurant does that!

2 – We don’t need to use this method because we don’t have that problem. As final result we will not change the flavor characteristics or even the nutritional values of those using microwave as a strategy.

We grill any food maintaining the natural flavors and keeping up to 80% of their nutrients maintaining them juicier. Without any tricks we produce the juicier grill food people can have.

3 – This concept make sense if using any of the regular grill cooking methods. We don’t need to do that to avoid or eliminate the production of carcinogens.

Turning the food often contributes to loose their juices and, in a regular grill system also contributes to increase the charred parts of the food. This happens because you are changing the food contact points with the grid (metal surface), creating new ones.

4 – Each type of food has a different preparation method before go to grill. A proper marination contribute to reduce carcinogenic effects, however even doing that, we don’t have the issues that regular systems have, in order to avoid them.

After explaining all that (but we have more good things), isn’t it clear that, we definitely are the innovative, unique and healthiest “grill restaurant concept” in the food service industry?

Result of  several y

ears of researches and development, this project contemplates much more than everything that is recommended by these organizations.

Next step will be to meet them and not just explain but show them what we do to get incredible results. For sure will be something that will surprise them. We have learned during all these years but now we also have an educational side!

Issues, Healthy and safe grilling

PinnacleHealth Dietitian Marykaye Flatley, RD, LDN shares some tips for creating a safe and healthy meal on the grill. Check it out!

Every year people talk about the same but no one brings the solution. Avoiding is not eliminating!

The Healthy Grill USA project is the only restaurant project in the world able to eliminate those carcinogens.

60% of the Cancer diseases are direct related with grill food the way people and restaurants do.

Up to 75% of the american population eat grill food in restaurants twice or more times every week.

The misunderstandings about meat

For years it was taken for granted in the scientific community that the consumption of red meat increased the risk of colon cancer. According to David Khayat, this thesis is not necessarily true. “Everything depends on the meat and how to cook,” he explains. The specialist examined the various international nutrition studies published in recent years and reached the conclusion that almost all, at least the most widespread, were based on the eating habits of the U.S. population.

He compiled several international studies comparing vegetarians and nonvegetarians consumers, involving a total of 76,000 volunteers. If on one hand the data indicated that vegetarians had less myocardial problems, but it was found that the risk for colon cancer was equal to that of non-vegetarians. But is that all other studies that pointed to red meat as a carcinogen were wrong? The French oncologist checked the details. In fact, one problem was the raw material base. 3.5 Oz. (100 gr.) steak U.S. beef has 300 calories, and if it is of European origin has only 150 on average. The steak in Europe is 28% protein on average and U.S. 16%. But the biggest difference lies in the lipids (fats): 4% for Europe and 24.9% for the U.S.

One explanation for the association of the meat to the cancer risk is related to the way it is cooked. In U.S. studies most consumers ate meat grilled or fried. These methods of cooking can burn the surface, forming carcinogens – PAH’s – especially if the traditional steak is well done. When you eat boiled or steamed the risk is considerably lower. Then you need to consider the issue of side dishes. “Large consumers of red meat tend to eat fewer vegetables and fruit, prefer fries and fatty sauces, typical of fast food, but with such great potential carcinogen,” says French expert.

Another way to reduce the risks associated with red meat is to avoid the blood. Here, the key is hemoglobin, rich in iron, which is implicated in the formation of carcinogenic

compounds, such as nitrates and free radicals as well as in inflammatory processes of the body which are also associated with disease. Further, iron is essential for the formation of abnormal blood vessels ranging food tumors. The trick is to let the meat rest and drain the blood. Who likes rare steak can still resort to another trick: eat a food rich in calcium (such as yogurt desert) or a calcium supplement at the end of the meal, because this element “helps counteract the action of blood on the intestinal mucosa,” explains David Khayat. When the question are the white meats such as pork, chicken and turkey, the French oncologist has no doubt that is not implicated in cancer (from that drain the blood and remove the skin fat). The same is true for the eggs: “From the point of view of the risk of cancer are neutral. Eat what you want, do not hesitate.”

What should you do?

Drain the blood to prevent excess iron with a potential carcinogen. Wash the meat before cooking or taking a pill supplement of calcium phosphate after consuming a lot of blood products which cancels the effect of iron. Prefer to broil, stewed or boiled.  Avoid too much well done grilled meat (especially the burnt areas) and exposed to smoke. Broil instead traditional BBQing/grilling methods. Prefer Grass Feed meats!

Related articles

• What about eating meat? (healthygrill.wordpress.com)
• Using any USUAL KNOWN grilling system – THE FIVE WORST FOODS TO GRILL by the Cancer Project (healthygrill.wordpress.com)
• Some tips for a great and healthier “Grill Food” at home – Updated (healthygrill.wordpress.com)
• Time to grill meat – Why chose grass fed meat? Starting now you will learn why! (healthygrill.wordpress.com)

Smoked food and Cancer

Smoked food have a wonderful flavor, as long as there have been cured meats, there have been health problems caused by this preservation process.

A lot of people think that any smoked food has been actually exposed to smoke! But this is not true! Rather, a chemical called liquid smoke is used to flavor the meat for example. This liquid smoke contains dangerous carcinogens chemicals.

Besides smoking, the process of curing meat (bacon, ham, sausages) also involves treating it with a variety of additives and preservatives, which are a reason for cancer development.

As well as nitrites and nitrates, smoked foods are often incredibly high in ordinary salt. They can sometimes contain up to 50 times more salt than a unsmoked version.

The 2007 report, issued by the World Cancer Research Fund, has involved hundreds of experts who have reviewed all the evidence we have to date about the link between food, nutrition, weight gain, overweight and physical activity and the risk of cancer.

According to that report and considering all the research they made the following recommendations:

• There is evidence of a convincing or probable causal link between certain foods and a reduced risk of some cancers including: foods containing dietary fibre, vegetables and fruits, milk, calcium supplements (which protect against colorectal cancer) and selenium supplements (which protect against prostate cancer).

• The following can increase the risk of cancer: alcoholic drinks (they say that evidence that alcoholic drinks are a cause of particular cancers has strengthened), processed meats (meats preserved by smoking, salting, or curing) which includes bacon, ham and salami (which are linked to colorectal cancer), a diet very high in calcium, salt and salty foods, beta-carotene supplements (high doses increase risk of lung cancer in smokers).

• For other factors, there is limited evidence that the link is ‘causal’. For these, the researchers have decided that the evidence is so limited that no conclusions can be drawn. These include fish and food containing vitamin D and colorectal cancer, smoked foods and stomach cancer, milk for bladder cancer, total fat intake for lung cancer or post-menopausal breast cancer, foods containing animal fat and colorectal cancer; and butter and lung cancer.

• For some factors, the researchers have concluded that an effect on risk is unlikely. With coffee for example the researchers say “it is unlikely that coffee has a substantial effect on the risk of cancer either of the pancreas or of the kidney”.

• They concluded that there is convincing evidence that physical activity protects against colon cancer, and evidence that it probably protects against post-menopausal breast cancer and cancer of the endometrium. There is limited evidence that exercise offers protection against pre-menopausal breast cancer, cancers of the lung and pancreas. They also conclude that since physical activity protects against overweight, weight gain and obesity, that it also then “protects against cancers for which the risk is increased by these factors”. They say that “the evidence is consistent with the message that the more physically active people are, the better”.

• When considering the evidence around body weight, the panel concluded that “body fatness” and “abdominal fatness” increase the risk of cancer (various types including oesophagus, pancreas, breast, kidney, colorectal, kidney, gall bladder). They say that the evidence that “body fatness is a cause of cancers of various sites” is more impressive now than it was in the mid-1990s.

 

Links :

World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective

The American Institute for Cancer Research issues grilling concerns update – March 20th, 2012

This article was recently written  and I thought should be shared.

However this doesn’t happen when  grill food is cooked according to the Healthy Grill USA concept.

We came to make the difference!

–

There has been a lot of local and national news coverage recently about the health concerns associated with the consumption of red meat. Around this time every year, written articles also begin to appear about the health risks associated with both red and processed meats; beef, lamb, pork, sausages, including hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), has also recently published it’s annual concerns and findings. But this year, they have a very important findings update which involves our upcoming grilling season.

According to the ACIR, a recent report on diet and cancer has concluded that a diet which includes large, grilled amounts of both red and processed meat, elevates the risk of, and is a contributor to, colorectal cancer. A significant problem is what takes place chemically during the grilling of these meats. The grilling process releases heterocyclic amines (HCA’s), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s), both carcinogens, which have been found to actually begin the cancer development process in laboratory testing.

The men in our lives are, for the most part, the ones who don the aprons, put on the chef’s hats at a rakish angle, grab the utensils and pride themselves for their superb grilling expertise. But women are usually the one’s who are responsible for the actual purchasing of the food. Don’t cover up the grill. There are ways to minimize these risks.

The ACIR recommends that when selecting meat for grilling, choose lean cuts. Fat that drips into your heat source and causes a flare-up, releases and deposits these carcinogens into the meat. Cover your grilling surface with aluminum foil that has been punctured to allow fats to drain, but not flare up. Marinades have shown to be a good reducer of of the carcinogen’s formation, as does the frequent flipping of the meat. Another good way to minimize risks is to partially pre-cook your meats in the microwave before finishing them on the grill. This will shorten the amount of time that the meat is on the grill, but will allow everyone to enjoy both the fun of grilling and it’s wonderful flavors.

Finally, the ACIR recommends that 2/3 of your picnic plate should be filled with salads, vegetables or other plant based foods. Not only will you have a delicious meal, but you, your family and friends will be enjoying a really healthy one.

Meg Madison

Durham Women’s Health Examiner