Yesterday, I was talking to a friend and he said that the components involved in smoke created from using charcoal are known carcinogens. So I decided to look this up on the net and found this article. What's everyones opinion on this?
Where There's Smoke, There's Cancer Risk
Grilling meat, poultry, or fish, whether over wood, charcoal, or gas, exposes the food -- and whoever eats it -- to two separate carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found in the smoke created when fat drips from meat, chicken skin, or fatty fish (such as salmon) onto a heat source. The PAH-filled smoke coats the food, which we then ingest.
The second type of carcinogen, heterocyclic amines (HCAs), develops in meat, poultry, and fish that is cooked over high heat. Extreme temperatures prompt a reaction between the food's natural amino acids and creatine, a substance found in muscle tissue. HCAs are the product of that reaction. HCAs can also form in foods that are broiled, especially well-done red meat.
Researchers in a 1996 study found that people who eat their beef well done are more than three times as likely to develop cancer as those who prefer their steaks medium-rare or rare. Other research suggests a link between high consumption of well-done, fried, and barbecued meats to an increase in colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer. Animal studies also associate HCAs and lung cancers.
Safer Grilling Guidelines
The good news is that if you take a few precautions, you can enjoy the fun and food of outdoor cooking and stay healthy, too.
Stay clear of burned steer. This simple change may be the most difficult to make for fans of charred steaks, hamburgers, and chicken. At the very least, eat well-done meat sparingly. (While avoiding extremes, you'll still want to cook meat completely, to make sure you eliminate illness-causing bacteria like E. coli.)
Keep the fat to a minimum. Cut down on carcinogens by grilling only lean cuts of meat and trimming all visible fat, and removing the skin from chicken.
Grill fish instead. Fish generally contains less fat than meat and poultry do, which makes it less likely to create PAH-carrying smoke. And it tends to require much less time on the grill, reducing its exposure to carcinogens.
Precook your foods. The higher the temperature at which foods cooks and the longer it stays on the grill, the more HCAs develop. Partially cooking meat or poultry in the microwave for two to five minutes draws out most of the potentially harmful chemicals without sacrificing moistness. (Be sure to discard the juices produced.) You can also place it in the oven at a low temperature. An additional benefit to these approaches is that slow-cooking the food and then finishing it on the grill prevents the charred-on-the-outside, raw-on-the-inside result that has embarrassed many an outdoor chef. To prevent bacteria from multiplying, grill the food immediately after precooking.If you want to read more, click here
Where There's Smoke, There's Cancer Risk
Grilling meat, poultry, or fish, whether over wood, charcoal, or gas, exposes the food -- and whoever eats it -- to two separate carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found in the smoke created when fat drips from meat, chicken skin, or fatty fish (such as salmon) onto a heat source. The PAH-filled smoke coats the food, which we then ingest.
The second type of carcinogen, heterocyclic amines (HCAs), develops in meat, poultry, and fish that is cooked over high heat. Extreme temperatures prompt a reaction between the food's natural amino acids and creatine, a substance found in muscle tissue. HCAs are the product of that reaction. HCAs can also form in foods that are broiled, especially well-done red meat.
Researchers in a 1996 study found that people who eat their beef well done are more than three times as likely to develop cancer as those who prefer their steaks medium-rare or rare. Other research suggests a link between high consumption of well-done, fried, and barbecued meats to an increase in colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer. Animal studies also associate HCAs and lung cancers.
Safer Grilling Guidelines
The good news is that if you take a few precautions, you can enjoy the fun and food of outdoor cooking and stay healthy, too.
Stay clear of burned steer. This simple change may be the most difficult to make for fans of charred steaks, hamburgers, and chicken. At the very least, eat well-done meat sparingly. (While avoiding extremes, you'll still want to cook meat completely, to make sure you eliminate illness-causing bacteria like E. coli.)
Keep the fat to a minimum. Cut down on carcinogens by grilling only lean cuts of meat and trimming all visible fat, and removing the skin from chicken.
Grill fish instead. Fish generally contains less fat than meat and poultry do, which makes it less likely to create PAH-carrying smoke. And it tends to require much less time on the grill, reducing its exposure to carcinogens.
Precook your foods. The higher the temperature at which foods cooks and the longer it stays on the grill, the more HCAs develop. Partially cooking meat or poultry in the microwave for two to five minutes draws out most of the potentially harmful chemicals without sacrificing moistness. (Be sure to discard the juices produced.) You can also place it in the oven at a low temperature. An additional benefit to these approaches is that slow-cooking the food and then finishing it on the grill prevents the charred-on-the-outside, raw-on-the-inside result that has embarrassed many an outdoor chef. To prevent bacteria from multiplying, grill the food immediately after precooking.If you want to read more, click here
