VIV Says: Blog

Nuking meat before grilling helps cut back on harmful HCAs.

We look forward to barbecuing this Independence Day weekend — but after reading a recent study from the University of Minnesota, we’ll make sure to turn down the heat and watch those grill marks.

According to the research, which tracked the meat consumption, cooking and doneness preferences of hundreds of disease-free individuals over a nine-year period, people who preferred very well-done steak were almost 60 percent more likely to get pancreatic cancer as those who ate steak less well-done or did not eat steak, said lead researcher Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor and cancer epidemiologist with the university’s School of Public Health and Masonic Cancer Center. “Furthermore,” Anderson noted, “when we looked at amount of consumption with doneness preferences, we found that those with the highest intake of very well-done meat had a seventy percent higher risk for pancreatic cancer over those with lowest consumption.”

But it’s not just grilled burgers and steaks that pose a problem. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are carcinogenic chemicals that form when amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and creatine (a chemical found naturally in animal muscle) react at high cooking temperatures. Given that HCA formation depends on the type of food, cooking method (not just grilling, but frying and broiling too), temperature, and time, Anderson and the NCI recommend the following:

• Cut away parts of meat that are burned or charred.
• Microwave meat for a few minutes first, and pour off the juices, which contain many of the precursors of the cancer-causing compounds.
• When grilling, do not let flames lap at the meat; wrap meat in foil to protect it from the direct flame.
• Cook meat in water or another liquid to prevent meat from getting too hot.

Much as we love a nice charred burger — and cringe at the thought of nuking a steak before throwing it on the grill — we’ll be taking this advice to heart. So, what are your plans for July 4? Will this news have any effect on how you barbecue?