How to reduce the risk of grilled food?

Grilled food is a delicious dish often chosen in the cold season but it also contains many potential dangers to health.

So how can we enjoy delicious grilled dishes while limiting the harmful effects of grilled food on our health?

The dangers of grilled food

Grilled food, if used for a long time, can increase the risk of aging and cardiovascular and bone diseases. Charcoal used to prepare grilled food often produces CO, a very toxic gas. This gas is harmful to health and causes respiratory diseases. In addition, aluminum grills for grilling food also pose a potential risk to the body due to the reaction between acid and aluminum produced under the influence of temperature.

Grilled food often contains a lot of fat, when grilled at high temperatures, the fat from the meat and the fat added to the meat to increase the crispiness of the dish will drip down to the fire below. Burning fat creates a toxic gas PHA (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon), this gas sticks to the food and can cause cancer. Red meat, poultry, fish, seafood contain muscle protein, when exposed to high temperatures for a long time will produce heterocyclic amine (HAs), a compound that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, especially stomach and colon cancer.

Grilled food contains many health hazards.

How to eat grilled food safely

Depending on the nature of each type of food, there is a suitable way to grill. It is best to choose lean meat, remove fat, and remove the skin (for poultry) to minimize fat falling into the fire when grilling (producing PAHs). Limit the use of fatty meats such as ribs, sausages, and lap xuong.

Pay attention to the cooking time of the food to adjust the grilling temperature accordingly. For meat that cooks quickly like beef, you can grill it for 2-5 minutes. Chicken and pork, depending on the size of the meat, will have the most reasonable time. For food that takes a long time to cook, you can steam or boil it before grilling.

Do not eat burnt food, including vegetables, because HAs are only formed when grilling meat, fish, poultry, and seafood, but PAHs can appear in the burnt parts of any food.

Marinate the meat before grilling with a mixture of fruit and vegetable juices such as orange juice (lemon, tangerine), ginger, chili, vinegar, red wine... because they contain antioxidants. Drizzle the sauce while grilling to prevent the meat from burning.

Drain the food before grilling, wrap the fish in aluminum foil and grill to keep the food moist, preventing the accumulation of toxic substances from the smoke. You can add some herbs, garlic, a few slices of lemon, and a little white wine for flavor. Keep the food in the refrigerator or ice box, separate raw and cooked food until grilling. When using a charcoal stove, you need to pay attention to let the charcoal burn out and there is no more smoke before putting the food on the grill, to avoid the food being smoky.

Grilled foods are often less fatty, drier and harder than other cooking methods such as boiling, steaming, cooking... Therefore, most grilled dishes are not suitable for the chewing and digestion capacity of children and the elderly. However, grilled fish wrapped in foil retains the moisture of the fish, making it soft and delicious, so it is good for both children and the elderly.

According to Health and Life