SUMMER is a great time for picnics and cookouts, but beware! Eating grilled meats like isaw, adidas, dugo, and barbecue has been found to increase the risk of cancer.
According to Evelyn Ladines, chair of the Department of Food Technology of the College of Education, carcinogenic substances are formed in meats when they are grilled at high temperatures. “The higher the temperature used to grill the meats, the more carcinogens are formed,” she said.
The May 2007 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology says that carcinogenic compounds polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) develop on the surface of meats after they are grilled at high temperatures.
PAHs are primarily formed by incomplete combustion of carbon contained in wood, coal, and fat while HCAs form when creatine, a chemical found in muscles and amino acids react in the presence of heat.
The study determined that postmenopausal women who had high intake of grilled or smoked meats increased their risk of developing breast cancer.
Another study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) in 2004 evaluated diets and cooking habits of 176 people diagnosed with stomach cancer and 503 people without cancer. The researchers discovered that those who eat medium-well to well-done beef have more than three times the risk of stomach cancer than those who take rare to medium-rare beef.
The study also discovered that those who eat beef at least four times a week have more than twice the risk of developing stomach cancer than those who consume less.
According to the study, there are four factors that contribute to the formation of HCAs and PAHs: the type of food, cooking method, temperature, and length of time the food is grilled.
When it comes to the type of food, Ladines said that carcinogenic substances are mainly produced in “muscle meats” like beef, pork, poultry, and fish. Other sources of proteins like milk, eggs, and tofu produce little or no HCAs and PAHs when cooked. Barbequing, frying, and broiling, which all use very high temperature, were found to produce the largest amounts of carcinogens. Gravy made from meat drippings has also been found to contain significant amounts of carcinogens. Meats that are grilled longer produce more carcinogens and the meat tends to char.
According to Ladines, the ingredients used to process meats are very important in determining whether or not they will burn faster, causing increased production of the carcinogenic substances.
“Tocino burns faster than other meats because it contains sugar. It’s an example of why the ingredients are so important in determining the amount of carcinogens that will form,” she said.
The JNCI study says that HCAs and PAHs can be reduced in meats by using alternative methods of cooking like stewing, boiling, and poaching, and by avoiding the use of extracts from grilled meats when making gravy.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that individuals should limit their intake of grilled meats and that blackened or burned parts of the meats should specially be avoided. Before grilling, the meat should be marinated; fats should also be trimmed as well as the chicken skin. It would be best to pre-cook the meat in the microwave in order to reduce grilling time and in turn, the formation of carcinogenic substances.
For those who savor the taste of grills, Ladines suggested fruits and vegetable alternatives. “Carcinogens do not form on fruits and vegetables, only on meats,” she said.
The ACS says that the best-tasting grilled vegetables include onions, green and red bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, pineapples, papayas, and mangoes. Grilled or not, fruits and vegetables are still the best and healthiest food to eat.
