Grill Issues and dangers
Grilling is often presented as a healthy alternative to cooking with oil, because grilled foods can be lower in saturated fat, if fat is allowed to drip out after it liquefies. Although other problems can occur that are forgotten or ignored.
Studies have shown that cooking beef, pork, poultry, fish, etc…, by the traditional grilling methods at high temperatures can lead to the formation of two different types of carcinogens described as Benzopyrenes.
1 - Heterocyclic amines - "HCAs are formed when amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), sugars, and creatine (a substance found in muscle) react at high temperatures”.
Diets with high exposures to HCAs are correlated with higher rates of cancers of the pancreas, colon and digestive tract.
HCAs can directly damage your DNA, initiating cancer. The highest levels of HCAs are found in grilled poultry, steaks, salmon grilled with the skin, well-done hamburgers and barbecued pork such as spare ribs.
"Heterocyclic amines are the carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscle meats such as beef, pork, fowl, and fish".
"NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics found a link between individuals with stomach cancer and the consumption of grilled food, and other studies for colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer is associated with high intakes of medium well or well-done grilled food."
"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service labeled several heterocyclic amines as likely to be carcinogenic to humans in their most recent Report on Carcinogens. Epidemiological studies show associations between intakes of heterocyclic amines and cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, prostate, pancreas, lung, bladder, stomach, and esophagus. No risk assessments have been made to estimate the risk of consuming heterocyclic amines. Changes in cooking techniques have been shown to reduce the level of heterocyclic amines in meat."
2 - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - "PAHs are formed when fat and juices from food grilled directly over an open fire or heat source, drip onto it, causing flames and smoke. These flames and smoke (combustion caused by the burn of the juices) contain PAHs that then, adhere to the food that are being cooking (the food cells are open). PAHs can also be formed during other food preparation processes, such as smoking of meats."
"In the home, PAHs are present in tobacco smoke, smoke from wood burning stoves and fireplaces, creosote-treated wood products and some foods. Barbecuing, smoking or charring food over a fire greatly increases the amount of PAHs in the food."
When the fat drips onto the coals or on top of any hot surface as infrared or directly over gas burners, PAHs are formed. The smoke carries these hydrocarbons and coats the food we eat. PAHs also form with charring. Exposures to PAHs are correlated with increased rates of stomach cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Other Health effects from chronic or long-term exposure to PAHs may include decreased immune function, cataracts, kidney and liver damage (e.g. jaundice), breathing problems, asthma-like symptoms, and lung function abnormalities. Naphthalene, a specific PAH, can cause the breakdown of red blood cells.
Other high-temperature cooking methods such as frying also produce these dangerous chemicals.
In the simplest explanation these chemicals are formed by putting food, primarily meats in contact with intense heat and flame. They are known cancer causing agents.
To watch some videos about the common Grill Issues click here.
Sources/References:
- The use of the wrong heat sources used in grilled food that causes pollution
- The fat and juices lost by grilling can contribute to drier food. This represents that the food loses some minerals and vitamins in the grilling process
- Grill with flames
- Direct heat can expose food to temperatures often in excess of 260 °C (500 °F). Grilled meat acquires a distinctive roast aroma from a chemical process called the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction only occurs when foods reach temperatures in excess of 155 °C (310 °F).
Studies have shown that cooking beef, pork, poultry, fish, etc…, by the traditional grilling methods at high temperatures can lead to the formation of two different types of carcinogens described as Benzopyrenes.
1 - Heterocyclic amines - "HCAs are formed when amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), sugars, and creatine (a substance found in muscle) react at high temperatures”.
Diets with high exposures to HCAs are correlated with higher rates of cancers of the pancreas, colon and digestive tract.
HCAs can directly damage your DNA, initiating cancer. The highest levels of HCAs are found in grilled poultry, steaks, salmon grilled with the skin, well-done hamburgers and barbecued pork such as spare ribs.
"Heterocyclic amines are the carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscle meats such as beef, pork, fowl, and fish".
"NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics found a link between individuals with stomach cancer and the consumption of grilled food, and other studies for colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer is associated with high intakes of medium well or well-done grilled food."
"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service labeled several heterocyclic amines as likely to be carcinogenic to humans in their most recent Report on Carcinogens. Epidemiological studies show associations between intakes of heterocyclic amines and cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, prostate, pancreas, lung, bladder, stomach, and esophagus. No risk assessments have been made to estimate the risk of consuming heterocyclic amines. Changes in cooking techniques have been shown to reduce the level of heterocyclic amines in meat."
2 - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - "PAHs are formed when fat and juices from food grilled directly over an open fire or heat source, drip onto it, causing flames and smoke. These flames and smoke (combustion caused by the burn of the juices) contain PAHs that then, adhere to the food that are being cooking (the food cells are open). PAHs can also be formed during other food preparation processes, such as smoking of meats."
"In the home, PAHs are present in tobacco smoke, smoke from wood burning stoves and fireplaces, creosote-treated wood products and some foods. Barbecuing, smoking or charring food over a fire greatly increases the amount of PAHs in the food."
When the fat drips onto the coals or on top of any hot surface as infrared or directly over gas burners, PAHs are formed. The smoke carries these hydrocarbons and coats the food we eat. PAHs also form with charring. Exposures to PAHs are correlated with increased rates of stomach cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Other Health effects from chronic or long-term exposure to PAHs may include decreased immune function, cataracts, kidney and liver damage (e.g. jaundice), breathing problems, asthma-like symptoms, and lung function abnormalities. Naphthalene, a specific PAH, can cause the breakdown of red blood cells.
Other high-temperature cooking methods such as frying also produce these dangerous chemicals.
In the simplest explanation these chemicals are formed by putting food, primarily meats in contact with intense heat and flame. They are known cancer causing agents.
To watch some videos about the common Grill Issues click here.
Sources/References:
- Anderson KE, Kadlubar FF, Kulldorff M, Harnack L, Gross M, Lang NP, Barber C, Rothman N, Sinha R. Dietary intake of heterocyclic amines and benzo(a)pyrene: associations with pancreatic cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 14.9 (2005): 2261-2265.
- Balogh Z, Gray JI, Gomaa EA, Booren AM. Formation and inhibition of heterocyclic aromatic amines in fried ground beef patties. Food Chem Toxicol. 38.5 (2000):395-401.
- Knize MG, Felton JS. Formation and human risk of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines formed from natural precursors in meat. Nutr Rev. 63.5 (2005): 158-165.
- Monti SM, Ritieni A, Sacchi R, Skog K, Borgen E, Fogliano V. Characterization of phenolic compounds in virgin olive oil and their effect on the formation of carcinogenic/mutagenic heterocyclic amines in a model system. J Agric Food Chem. 49.8 (2001): 3969-3975.
- Persson E, Graziani G, Ferracane R, Fogliano V, Skog K. Influence of antioxidants in virgin olive oil on the formation of heterocyclic amines in fried beefburgers. Food Chem Toxicol. 41.11 (2003): 1587-1597.
- Ramirez MR, Estevez M, Morcuende D, Cava R. Effect of the type of frying culinary fat on volatile compounds isolated in fried pork loin chops by using SPME-GC-MS. J Agric Food Chem. 52.25 (2004): 7637-7643.
- Salmon CP, Knize MG, Felton JS. Effects of marinating on heterocyclic amine carcinogen formation in grilled chicken. Food Chem Toxicol. 35.5 (1997): 433-441.
- Shin IS, Rodgers WJ, Gomaa EA, Strasburg GM, Gray JI. Inhibition of heterocyclic aromatic amine formation in fried ground beef patties by garlic and selected garlic-related sulfur compounds. J Food Prot. 65.11 (2002): 1766-1770.
- Sinha R, Peters U, Cross AJ, Kulldorff M, Weissfeld JL, Pinsky PF, Rothman N, Hayes RB. Meat, meat cooking methods and preservation, and risk for colorectal adenoma. Cancer Res. 65.17 (2005): 8034-8041.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program. 2005. 11th Report on Carcinogens. Available at http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/toc11.html.
- Sinha R, Rothman N, Brown ED, Salmon CP, Knize MG, Swanson CA, Rossi SC, Mark SD, Levander OA, Felton JS. High concentrations of the carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo- [4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) occur in chicken but are dependent on the cooking method. Cancer Res. 1995 Oct 15;55(20):4516-9.
- Sinha R, Rothman N, Salmon CP, Knize MG, Brown ED, Swanson CA, Rhodes D, Rossi S, Felton JS, Levander OA. Heterocyclic amine content in beef cooked by different methods to varying degrees of doneness and gravy made from meat drippings. Food Chem Toxicol. 1998 Apr;36(4):279-87.
- Murray S, Lynch AM, Knize MG, Gooderham MJ. Quantification of the carcinogens 2-amino-3,8-dimethyl- and 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine in food using a combined assay based on gas chromatography-negative ion mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr. 1993 Jul 2;616(2):211-9.
- Kataoka H, Nishioka S, Kobayashi M, Hanaoka T, Tsugane S. Analysis of mutagenic heterocyclic amines in cooked food samples by gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detector. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2002 Nov;69(5):682-9.
- Nagao, M and Sugimura, T. Food Borne Carcinogens: Heterocyclic Amines. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. New York: 2000.
- Jagerstad M, Skog K, Grivas S, Olsson K. Formation of heterocyclic amines using model systems. Mutat Res. 1991;259:219-33.
- Skog KI, Johansson MAE, Jagerstad MI. Carcinogenic heterocyclic amines in model systems and cooked foods: a review on formation, occurrence, and intake. Food and Chem Toxicol 1998;36:879-96.
- Robbana-Barnat S, Rabache M, Rialland E, Fradin J. Heterocyclic amines: occurrence and prevention in cooked food. Environ Health Perspect 1996;104:280-8.
- Thiebaud HP, Knize MG, Kuzmicky PA, Hsieh DP, Felton JS. Airborne mutagens produced by frying beef, pork, and a soy-based food. Food Chem Toxicol 1995;33:821-8.
- World Cancer Research Fund. Food, nutrition, and the prevention of cancer: A global perspective. American Institute of Cancer Research. Washington, DC: 1997.
- Felton JS, Knize MG, Salmon CP, Malfatti MA, Kulp KS. Human Exposure to Heterocyclic Amine Food Mutagens/Carcinogens: Relevance to Breast Cancer. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis. 2002: 39;112-118.
- Knize MG, Felton JS. Formation and Human Risk of Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amines Formed from Natural Precursors in Meat. Nutr Rev. 2005 May;63(5):158-65.
- World Cancer Research Fund. Food, nutrition, and the prevention of cancer: A global perspective. American Institute of Cancer Research. Washington, DC: 1997.
- Norat T, Riboli E. Meat consumption and colorectal cancer: a review of epidemiologic evidence. Nutr Rev. 2001 Feb;59(2):37-47
- Forman, D. Dietary exposure to N-nitroso compounds and the risk of human cancer. Cancer Surv. 1987;6(4):719-38.
- Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, and Speizer FE. Relation of meat, fat, and fiber intake to the risk of colon cancer in a prospective study among women. N Engl J Med. 1990 Dec 13;323(24):1664-72.
- Nöthlings U, Wilkens LR, Murphy SP, Henderson BE, Kolonel LN. Meat intake increases the risk for pancreatic cancer: The Multiethnic Cohort. Poster presented at: American Association for Cancer Research; April 20, 2005; Anaheim, CA.
- De Stefani E, Correa P, Boffetta P, Deneo-Pellegrini H, Ronco AL, Mendilaharsu M. Dietary patterns and risk of gastric cancer: a case-control study in Uruguay. Gastric Cancer. 2004;7(4):211-20.
- Fraser GE. Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70(suppl):532S-8S.
- Butler LM, Sinha R, Millikan RC, Martin CF, Newman B, Gammon MD, Ammerman AS, Sandler RS. Heterocyclic amines, meat intake, and association with colon cancer in a population-based study. Am J Epidemiol. 2003;157:434-45.
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