Healthy Grilling

With summertime here, it’s time to dust off the grill. Before you do, consider this. While barbeque sauce may not come with a surgeon general’s warning on the label, it does promote the formation of Heterocyclic amines (HAAs) which are the same substances found in cigarette smoke. Beef marinated with barbeque sauce and grilled showed an almost 3 fold increase in HAAs compared with beef grilled without barbeque sauce. These mutagenic compounds, formed when meats are grilled under high heat, have been linked with increased cancer rates so it is reasonable to limit their consumption. Studies suggest that it is the fructose content, found in high fructose corn syrup and honey in many prepared barbeque sauces, which is responsible for the greater HAA formation during the grilling process.

For healthier grilling vinegar and soy based marinades are excellent choices, drastically reducing HAA formation while adding flavor. A vinegar-based marinade (mixture of brown sugar, olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and salt) reduced HAA formation by 90% in chicken, compared with un-marinated. Likewise, teriyaki and tumeric-garlic marinades reduced HAAs formation in beef.

Pre-cooking meat in the oven and finishing off on the grill will also help cut out HAAs. You can avoid many of these harmful chemicals and still get great grilled flavor by grilling veggies and fruits too. Fire up the grill and use these simple tips to get your grilling season off to a healthy and flavorful start.

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