Best Grilling Tips To Cut Cancer Risk

Do you know what your grill and how you grill can affect your health? According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), when meat, poultry and fish are cooked at high temperatures, two cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons will form. This happens especially when the food is charred. These products may damage DNA and may increase your risk for cancer. Among these, colon cancer is the most common type of cancer associated with improper grilling.

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Usually, wrong techniques of grilling contributes to the major part of the side effects of grilled food. Selecting the right food to grill and knowing the correct technique to grill will together result in a healthy food option.

If grilled foods are your favourites, following some tips to avoid cancer during grilling can help you go a long way. Here are some important and effective grilling tips to reduce cancer risk. Remember these tips to avoid cancer when you prepare for grilling next time.

Pre-cook

Pre-cooking is one of the important grilling tips to reduce cancer risk. This will help to reduce the total cooking time, thereby avoiding the food to come in contact with high temperatures for a long time. This will help avoid the formation of heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This is one of the tips to avoid cancer while grilling.

Cook slowly

Reduce the cooking time to cutoff smoldering and charring. This will avoid harmful compounds that form due to excessive temperature from entering your plate. This will be one of the best grilling tips to reduce cancer risk. The cooking may take a bit long time, but this will be the perfect way to do a healthy grilling.

Marinate

Marinate meat before you start grilling. Allow the meat to remain marinated at least for 30 minutes before grilling. Marinating with seasoned vinegar or lemon juice will be the perfect option for grilling. Apart from the health aspect, marinating meat is highly recommended as it will add flavor and taste to your grilled item.

Include veggies

Instead of opting only for meat and fish, you should include a considerable amount of veggies as well to your grilling menu. Consider this as one of the most effective tips to reduce cancer risk. Use vegetables like mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus, onions, and corn while grilling.

Avoid processed meat

Processed meat like hot dogs and sausages are not recommended for grilling. It is suggested to avoid red meat like pork, lamb and beef since they are considered to be linked to the formation of colon cancer. Chicken and fish are generally used as a safe option for performing grilling.

Time of storage

It is better not to store grilled foods. If stored, grilled foods are safe to eat for two or three days after the cooking. But, never eat grilled foods that are older than three days. And, if you store grilled food in a refrigerator, remember to heat it to an internal temperature of 165º F before consuming it again.