COOKING ON THE GRILL

For meat lovers, there’s nothing quite like cooking on a charcoal grill to bring out that great taste in steak and burgers. But grilling is not just for beef. It can add delicious flavor to many foods — lamb, shrimp, vegetable kabobs, ears of corn.

The Health Benefits of Grilling

According to Susan Kraus, MS, RD, a registered dietitian at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, there are many reasons why grilling is a healthy way to cook:

There is no need to add any fat to the food.
The fat on meat drains away from the food.
Grilling can be accomplished quickly, while keeping the kitchen clean.
When properly grilled, meat, fish, and chicken remain moist and tender. Other cooking techniques often involve using fat or adding a heavy sauce, whereas grilling might only require patting on some spices or basting with a low- or no-fat marinade. Also, fat drains from meat cooked on the grill, whereas with meat prepared in the oven, any fat that melts off sits in the cooking pan along and is harder to drain off.

Grilling and Your Cancer Risk

The downside to grilling is its link to an increased risk of some cancers in people who eat a lot of heavily grilled meats. Two types of cancer-promoting chemicals can form during the grilling process, explains Kraus:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are in the smoke that interacts with the meat on the grill when dripping fat causes flames to flare.
Heterocyclic amines, or HAs, are produced by a reaction created when the muscle substances of the meat are exposed to high heat or prolonged cooking. HAs are created inside the meat so they can’t be scraped away or trimmed off. (They can also be created when food is fried at high temperatures on the stove or cooktop). Both HAs and PAHs are thought to increase the danger of colon and stomach cancers. HAs have also been linked to pancreatic cancer.
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Another potentially dangerous substance has been traced to cooking at high temperatures: Both grilling and frying can create advanced glycogen end-products (AGEs), which have been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, says Kraus.

Reducing Cancer Risk When Grilling

Kraus suggests these steps to reduce the amount of potential carcinogens in grilled foods and to minimize your cancer risk:

Cover the grill with foil (make tiny perforations to allow fat to drip through) before grilling — this protects the food from the PAHs in smoke. Even vegetables can be healthier if protected from PAH exposure. Cook the food slowly, taking care that it doesn’t burn or char.
Choose lean cuts to prevent fat from dripping and causing flares.
If you use a charcoal grill, wait until the coals have cooled before you start cooking.
When buying a new grill, consider a gas-powered one; you can more easily adjust the flame.
Use acid-based marinades, those made with vinegar, citrus juices, or red wine, and have some in reserve to use for basting. Research conducted at Kansas State University found that using an antioxidant-rich spice and herb marinade may decrease HA formation in steak by more than 80 percent, says Kraus.Turn the food often to prevent burning.
Scrape off any burned parts of meats before eating to remove PAHs (but this does not remove HAs).
Consider starting the cooking process inside, in the microwave for instance, and then finish your food on the grill — just long enough to get the grilled taste.
Avoid eating meat that is too well done. The longer it cooks, the more time HAs have to form.

Try These Grilling Recipes

There is no shortage of healthy recipes using acid-based marinades and herb-and-spice rubs to add extra flavor to your food and deliver a protective antioxidant effect. Here are three to try:

Cilantro-Lime Flank Steak is seasoned with a citrus-based marinade, which includes a delicious mix of tangy lime juice, pungent cilantro, garlic, and herbs.For a spicy flavor on chicken, try Grilled Cajun-Style Chicken Salad, which is grilled, sliced, and then served over crunchy vegetables.Cuban-Style Swordfish uses a tasty lime-based marinade flavored with a variety of spices, and it can be broiled in the oven when bad weather gets in the way of outdoor grilling. Grilling is delicious and easy; by following cooking guidelines to minimize the risks, it's a healthy option, too.