Grilled Meat: Good or Bad?

By

Summer is all about grilling, but many folks are concerned about firing up red meats such as beef and lamb. Here’s the low-down on grilling meat.

The Good
Grilling is a quick and easy way to whip up a weeknight dinner or entertain friends and family. There are many lean cuts of meat that are easy to grill, including lamb tenderloin, strip steak, flank and rib eye. Nutritionally, red meats like beef and lamb are packed with protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins such as niacin, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12.

Marinating meat before grilling helps tenderize and add flavor. Studies have also shown that marinades with little or no sugar also help protect meat from charring and have been shown to reduce heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) formation — compounds that have been linked to cancer.

The Bad
If you love the flavor of charred meat, you may want to reconsider. Charring causes the formation of HAAs, which has been linked to cancer in animal studies. Further, cooking meats over open flames where fat can drip and produce smoke — think grilling — can lead to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs have also been linked to cancer formation.

Grill to perfection and greatly reduce HAAs and PAHs by monitoring your grill’s heat level and the doneness temperature of meat, poultry and fish when cooking.
Luckily, there are ways to minimize the production of HAAs and PAHs, including:
• Don’t press burgers down onto grill grates, where juices can drip and flare.
• Cooking meat over a medium flame (as opposed to a high flame) will help prevent the formation of HAAs while still allowing the internal cooking temperature to be reached.
• Before cooking, remove meat from the marinade and shake off excess. Use a paper towel to pat dry and help promote even browning.
• Avoid sugary glazes and sauces, which can burn easily. If you want to use them, baste the meat the last few minutes on the grill.

The Verdict
Grilling meat is a quick and delicious way to get a meal on the table, however, certain guidelines should be followed in order to help ensure maximum nutrition and minimum cancer risk.

Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian and consultant who specializes in food safety and culinary nutrition. She is the author of The Greek Yogurt Kitchen: More Than 130 Delicious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Day.



from Healthy Eats – Food Network Healthy... http://ift.tt/2ab0oES

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post-Workout Coffee Protein Shake

By
Image
Once again, I’ve partnered with Brother  to show the versatility of the  Brother P-touch Label Maker , especially when it comes to fitness and gym equipment.  As always, thank you for supporting CNC! I receive quite a few questions from readers about what I eat before, during, and after workouts, so I decide to share those with you today. It changes a little bit from workout-to-workout, but I keep a general framework in mind. BEFORE (approximately 30 minutes): I typically eat a small snack made up of mostly simple carbs since they provide quick energy. Some favorites: Half of a banana or another piece of whole fruit, a protein bar, handful of raisins, or a rice cake with jam and sometimes nut butter (it just depends how hungry I am and the timing of my workout). DURING : I typically don’t consume anything during my workouts, unless they’re longer than 90 minutes, like if I’m training for a long distance race (i.e. half marathon). In that case, I’ll take an energy gel and water ev
Read more

Evernote Review: Your Digital Organization Hub

By
Image
If you’re looking for a one-stop shop to organize your digital life, check out Evernote! Here’s my Evernote review and all the great features you can use to make your thoughts, notes, and files easy to find, sort, and save.  This post is sponsored by Evernote .  Raise your hand if your digital life feels cluttered. If we were in a room, almost everyone’s hand would go up, including mine!  With so much of our lives digitized these days, it’s hard not to get overwhelmed with all the information we need to save and reference. And because computers, the internet, and living in email and calendars are relatively new to humans, we as a society are still learning good systems. If I asked you to organize a paper filing cabinet, you’d probably have a few good ideas on how to do that. But if I asked you to organize a computer hard drive, many of us get stumped on the sheer volume of files and the endless ways to sort.  The good news is there are apps that make this process more intuitiv
Read more

Lyme Disease, Protein for Women, Acid Reflux while Fasting | THRR049

By
Image
What is Healthy Weight, Acid Reflux During Fasting, Long Term Antibiotic Use – Lyme Disease, Women Over 40, Controversy Over Meat Make your health an act of rebellion. Join The Healthy Rebellion Please Subscribe and Review: Apple Podcasts | RSS   Submit your questions for the podcast here   Show Notes: News topic du jour: Leading dietary determinants identified using machine learning techniques and a healthy diet score for changes in cardiometabolic risk factors in children: a longitudinal analysis Conclusion: Diets high in seafood, rice, and red meat other than pork and low in refined grains, fried foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and wheat are leading healthy dietary factors for metabolic health in children. HDS is strongly predictive of CMR factors. 1. What is healthy weight? [10:27] Justin says: Greetings, On THRR045 Chris asked a question about fueling his gymnastics workouts and he mentioned his height and weight, 6’3” and 170 lbs. Robb commented that he (Chr
Read more