Does Eating Grilled Food Cause Cancer?

Grilling is one of the most popular forms of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below. It is preferred means of cooking for most restaurants given that it helps in cooking the meat quickly and it adds a smoky flavor to food. It is a preferred means of cooking meats. In this article we will try to find out, Does Eating Grilled Food Cause Cancer?

So far there has been no evidence that eating grilled food causes cancer. But cooking meat at the high temperatures you use to grill generates heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Hetero cyclic amines (HCAs) and poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemical substances that have been found to be mutagenic leading to changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer. It is not exactly that Grilled Food Cause Cancer, But process of cooking food can be unhealthy.

HCAs are exclusively formed when amino acids, sugars, and creatine react at high temperatures and are found in significant amounts only in meats cooked at high temperatures and not otherwise.

PAHs on the other hand, are formed when animal fat and juices from meat are released on being heated on a grill. These drip onto the fire, causing flames that re rich in PAHs that again adhere to the surface of the meat.

However if grilling of food is what stimulates your taste buds, there are many ways that you can use to reduce the formation of HCAs and PAHs.

Read: Fast Food & Cancer – Is there a relation?

Find effective ways to reduce formation of HCA’s and PAH’s and understand the question, “Does Eating Grilled Food Cause Cancer?”

• Marinate your Meats:
  Marinate acts a barricade between your meat and carcinogens and your choice of marinades can decide the extent of formation of these harmful chemicals and can cut down their formation to more than 80%. Most of the marinades have high antioxidant property contributing significantly to act against these carcinogens.
• Cut Back on Grill Time:
  When grilling meats, it is advisable to cut down your cooking time. Choose fish, which cooks faster than chicken or use various techniques to precook the meat to cut down the exposure to harmful chemicals generates for prolonged exposure on the grill.
• Avoid Processed Meats:
  Grilling processed foods can lead to generation of many harmful chemicals since they already are preserved
• Grill Veggies or Fruit:
  Instead of grilling meats, take a pick on one of your choicest veggies and grill them. Since HCAs and PAHs are released as a result of high temperature burning of animal protein, vegetables are much safer choices and may even help in cutting down the risk of cancer.
• Clean the Grill:
  One of the very important ways of ensuring a healthy cooing on the grill is to scrape the remaining leftovers from the grill once you are done. Most of these leftover can become carcinogenic residue if not removed for long.

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