Possible harmful effects when grilling meats? - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

Concerned Male · 02-16-2007, 11:01 PM

It's been talked about for a while how grilling meats can bring about potential cancer causing compounds called H.C.A.'s. I was wondering what people here think about that? I read that if you marinate foods before grilling, that you can prevent up to 92-99 percent of H.C.A.'s. The substances in the marinades are protective. Also, to never eat any charred portions.

Islandgirl1970 · 02-17-2007, 02:59 AM

I always wondered why charcoal/char marks are carcinogenic when we're all carbon based and I found out it's not necessarily the char but the benzene "cloud" that is formed when the fat hits the hot surface. I think it has something to do with the toxins (pesticides etc on it's food) from the cow which is stored in the fat cells so they suggest you really trim the fat off to prevent this.

I never heard that about marinades and I always marinade my meats so thats good to know. Also I like my steak med-rare so I guess if you were a well done fan you'd have a bigger problem with it.

Lenin · 02-17-2007, 07:58 AM

I really doubt that marinating meats will have much of an effect. The problem comes form burning the fats and proteins of the meat. These are long chain molecules which break and oxidize into many unpredictable compounds when the are burned...like cigarette tobacco. The proteins can form dangerous nitrosamines.

Some of these hundreds of half burned compounds are carcinogenic...no way 'round the issue. Probably breathing the cloud of smoke from grilling is even worse than eating the meat.

Maybe a marinade keeps the surface from "burning" less...but then you can be left with a wet, unseared steak...yecch!.

rita · 02-20-2007, 12:02 AM

Let's forget grilling. Carpaccio, anyone?

StenoLady1 · 02-20-2007, 06:46 AM

I'd heard about the marinade thing, too. It was on our news, then I had a deposition at a local hospital, and there were flyers laying around in the wait areas about making sure to marinate meats before grilling.

I really don't know what to think about this. When we grill, we prefer a rub or just salt and pepper. DH & I both find meat and chicken marinaded to be tough and rubbery. We grill out once every week to ten days, tho, and rarely eat red meat. I seem to recall fish and poultry not being as bad as grilling red meat?

It's getting depressing. Everything seems to be killing us, global warming, terrorism, our diets, our sedentary lifestyles mixed with high-stress demands ... Calgon, take me away!!!