Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Jeff_Golden via Flickr

Not to ruin your weekend, but your BBQ might give you cancer

Research shows that your barbcue may be cooking up some dangerous chemicals, but don’t worry, we have tips on how to avoid it.

WITH ALL THE lovely sunshine this weekend, many of you are probably planning on dusting off the barbecue and grilling yourselves up a delicious summer feast.

We definitely don’t want to spoil that for you but before before taking that first juicy bite there are a few things to know about barbecuing safely.

All that sizzling and flipping on the gas or charcoal grill may also be cooking up cancer-causing chemicals, experts at a cancer institute in the US have warned this week.

These chemicals have been linked to breast, stomach, prostate, and colon cancer, but the Dana-Farber Institute said that there’s no need to abandon the barbecue completely, it’s just a matter of “planning ahead and making wise choices”.

There are two risk factors to keep in mind. First, research has shown that high-heat grilling can convert proteins in red meat, pork, poultry, and fish into heterocyclic amines (HCAs). These chemicals have been linked to a number of cancers.

“What happens is that the high temperature can change the shape of the protein structure in the meat so it becomes irritating in the body and is considered a carcinogenic chemical,” explained nutritionist Stacey Kennedy.

Another cancer-causing agent, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is found in the smoke. PAHs form when fat and juices from meat products drip on the heat source. As the smoke rises it can stick to the surface of the meat.

“That’s where the main cancer causing compound occurs in grilling,” said Kennedy. “So you want to reduce the exposure to that smoke.”

To help avoid these dangerous chemicals, here are some tips for a safe barbecue:

Prep the Meat

  • Choose lean cuts of meat, instead of high-fat varieties such as ribs and sausages.
  • Trim all excess fat and remove skin.
  • When using marinades – thinner is better. Thicker marinades have a tendency to ‘char’, possibly increasing exposure to carcinogenic compounds.
  • Look for marinades that contain vinegar and/or lemon. They actually create a protective barrier around the meat.

Limit time – limit exposure

  • Always thaw meat first. This also reduces the cooking time.
  • Partially cook meat and fish in a microwave for 60 to 90 seconds on high before grilling and then discard the juices. This will lower cooking time and reduce risk of cause smoke flare-ups.

Grilling techniques

  • Flip burgers often – once every minute for meat burgers – to help prevent burning or charring.
  • Place food at least six inches from heat source.
  • Create a barrier to prevent juices from spilling and producing harmful smoke. Try lining the grill with aluminum foil and poking holes, and cooking on cedar planks.

Plan ahead and choose wisely

  • Lean meats create less dripping and less smoke.
  • Choose smaller cuts of meat, like kabobs, as they take less time to cook.

Some good news for veggies – charred vegretables are safe to eat as they are not affected the same way as the meat protein.

Kennedy told people not to panic explaining that if you’re following the proper safety tips, “the risk of getting cancer from grilling food is very low”.

Hopefully we didn’t give you too much of a scare. Bon appetit!

Read: Longer use of breast cancer drug halves the risk of death>

Read: Brad Pitt: Angelina is ‘absolutely heroic’ for undergoing double mastectomy>
Read: Breast cancer rates in under 50s rise, but fewer than ever are dying – UK>

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
77 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Missyb211
    Favourite Missyb211
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 7:21 AM

    There should be no more stigma attached to having HIV as there is for cervical cancer which is caused by another std. Isn’t it strange though that there is a stigma for the viruses and AIDS but not for the cancer.

    92
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jamie
    Favourite Jamie
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 8:03 AM

    @Missyb211: what STD causes cervical cancer?

    56
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Vincent
    Favourite Vincent
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 9:39 AM
    12
    See 12 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute bigbrownduck
    Favourite bigbrownduck
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 9:58 AM

    @Jamie: The HPV virus

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aoife Dooley
    Favourite Aoife Dooley
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 10:14 AM

    @Missyb211: not every cervical cancer patient has the HPV virus, far from it. HPV virus is only one of many causes of cervical cancer.

    35
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michael Kelly
    Favourite Michael Kelly
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 10:33 AM

    @Vincent: I don’t see why everyone relates this VIRUS to only sex, when there are multiple ways of Contracting it… Take Hospitals for one, poor hygiene, then the next patient….
    I even remember a news Article some years back saying something along the lines of: any woman who gave birth during such & such a year ( I was concerned coz my sister was born in 1977 ) anyway, the medical board issued a statement that whoever gave birth, & had “Complications” like C-Section or whatever, had to be screened, because of a “bad” batch of blood, for sometime, was not being thoroughly examined before use…( during transfusions or so..)And also, I remember going to a Dentist myself, who was about to use the same gloves as the patient before me.. So guys, don’t just put it down to sex is all…

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John B
    Favourite John B
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 11:20 AM

    @Aoife Dooley: actually the percentage is 70%, so it’s not far from it.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Missyb211
    Favourite Missyb211
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 1:03 PM

    @Aoife Dooley: while i didn’t look up the stats , every bit of info about cirvical cancer say’s “nearly all cases are caused by…”. I’d assume nearly all to be in the 90′s at least but I see someone mentionef 70%. clearly not every but a signuficant amount!

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Thomas Byrne
    Favourite Thomas Byrne
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 1:30 PM

    @Missyb211: yeah because it’s your own fault if you get HIV… any poor sod can get cancer it’s like comparing apples and oranges ye dzzzzoopppeee

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ray Muller
    Favourite Ray Muller
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 7:59 PM

    @Missyb211:
    No not at all, unless of course you are grossly ignorant or just plain delusional. Cervical cancer is not self inflicted or caused by a std!

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John B
    Favourite John B
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 10:46 PM

    @Ray Muller: it’s not self inflicted but in 70% of cases it is actually caused by the sexually transmitted disease HPV. Hence the drive for a vaccine.

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute nick mullen
    Favourite nick mullen
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 12:49 AM

    @Missyb211: agree with you but there was a stigma about cancer some years ago here in Ireland some people here thought it was contagious and would cross the road to avoid someone they knew had cancer

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute nick mullen
    Favourite nick mullen
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 12:50 AM

    @Jamie: H. P. V

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute nick mullen
    Favourite nick mullen
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 1:45 AM

    @John B: they have the hpv vaccine already free to 25 & under

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute nick mullen
    Favourite nick mullen
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 1:53 AM

    @Michael Kelly: highly unlikely it is a virus that is spread through intimate contact exchange of bodily fluids or blood contact, if hiv was spread as easily as you fear instead of an estimated 39 million infected world wide it would be at least 1 billion++

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute PJ Maguire Kavanagh
    Favourite PJ Maguire Kavanagh
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 10:57 AM

    Well at the end of the day the Irish government already have an option available to them to slow down/stop the spread of HIV… PrEP… Why it’s not as accessible as birth control pills is baffling.

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John B
    Favourite John B
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 11:22 AM

    @PJ Maguire Kavanagh: it’s quite simple: condoms are a tiny fraction of the cost and perhaps why the reluctance. Prep is primarily taken by men who have sex with men and wish to continue to do so without protection. Prep is taken by those who want to be able to continue to have multiple partners and continue to practice unsafe sex.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Graham.Kavanagh
    Favourite Graham.Kavanagh
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 12:17 PM

    @John B: Speed limits and safe, careful driving cost a tiny fraction compared to putting seat belts and airbags in cars. But despite this people still take risks and still make mistakes. All the tut-tutting in the world won’t change human nature.

    15
    See 5 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian Madden
    Favourite Brian Madden
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 12:20 PM

    @John B: prep is also taken by partners or both homosexual and heterosexual couples where one partner is positive and one us negative. Stop scaremongering.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John B
    Favourite John B
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 2:43 PM

    @Brian Madden: I’m not scaremongering, I work in a jurisdiction where prep is available, and the demographic I described constitutes the majority of people taking it.

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute nick mullen
    Favourite nick mullen
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 1:20 AM

    @John B: agreed if some individuals decide to have unprotected anal sex the risks are quite high if one of the partners has an active std ie herpes type 1 or 2, clamidia, gonorrhea, syphilis, hpv, the risk of hiv can increase by as much as 8 fold if the recipient partner is exposed to a recently hiv infected partner who has not yet seroconverted the risk can increase by as much as 20+ fold due to the high hiv rna, sadly sex is becoming a Russian roulette for people now.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute nick mullen
    Favourite nick mullen
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 1:43 AM

    @PJ Maguire Kavanagh: simple it’s much more expensive in the short term, but not necessarily in the long term, but our gov don’t think that way

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Eric Glare
    Favourite Eric Glare
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 5:54 AM

    @John B: PrEP is safe sex and with it being much more effective than condoms there is a moral obligation to promote PrEP over condoms for high risk people. The other strategy safer than condoms is the person with HIV having undetectable viral load, called treatment as prevention (TasP). I have been unable to transmit HIV for 18 years as I have had undetectable viral load all that time. PrEP and TasP are for people who want to mitigate HIV risk more than condoms can provide.

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John B
    Favourite John B
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 11:26 AM

    Some factually inaccuracy here. For example HIV can be transmitted through kissing if both partners have open sores in gums (although uncommon).

    Also the premise of the article is that it is the HIV virus that causes the stigma. It may be that it is the associated behaviours that are stigmatized: it is mostly homosexual men and drug use (both account for 60% of new diagnoses despite being only 10% of the population). Hopefully this will change with progress in areas like gay marriage etc.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian Madden
    Favourite Brian Madden
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 12:18 PM

    @John B: John you can’t catch hiv by kissing. Its Only transmitted by blood and fluids of the vagina and anus. You said open sores in gums can pass on hiv. That’s totally inaccurate.

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John B
    Favourite John B
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 2:44 PM

    @Brian Madden: it’s not me that said it, it’s the CDC. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/hivrisk/transmit/activities/kissing.html

    7
    See 2 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ken Pepper
    Favourite Ken Pepper
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 9:47 PM

    @John B: only 10% ? Don’t think so

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John B
    Favourite John B
    Report
    Sep 28th 2017, 10:48 PM

    @Ken Pepper: well that’s what the estimates are. Census says it’s actually much lower than 10% but it is likely higher as many people probably don’t write it on the census.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alois Irlmaier
    Favourite Alois Irlmaier
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 12:04 AM

    HIV is a risk that is real, why do people take the chance as it is as good as a delayed suicide?

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute nick mullen
    Favourite nick mullen
    Report
    Sep 29th 2017, 1:40 AM

    @Alois Irlmaier: well according to what I have read on the net same as most people here hiv is meant to be about the same to treat as diabetes not sure if it’s type 1 or 2 (big difference) so it becomes a chronic manageable disease! Except the medications are expensive including viral load/cd4 tests etc. Few times per year

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute jamshed Qudsia
    Favourite jamshed Qudsia
    Report
    Oct 15th 2018, 3:09 PM

    I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing like my doctors suggested.They didn’t want me to do anything or to take herbs or herbal remedies, but I had to try something – they just wanted me to do dialysis!This program allowed me to take control of my health. I went from Stage 4 to Stage 3 kidney disease are you having a high viral load count
    Or problem with your CD4 TREATMENT or better still PreP treatment
    Also liver inflammatory also seems not to be a problem to our registered users on our sites as we teach individuals on how to manage there self and household a quick contact on WhatsApp or call can change your life forever or whatsapp +233245402167

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute scofio willie
    Favourite scofio willie
    Report
    Aug 3rd 2024, 11:45 PM

    Got my ex boyfriend back……………

    This spell caster worked for me,

    Got rid of Herpes,,,

    Thank You _____Ro Bins On Bu Cler (G Ma I L … Co M)

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mag Jeffery
    Favourite Mag Jeffery
    Report
    Oct 5th 2017, 1:26 AM

    HELLO, i have read testimonies about this great man called Dr. Magana how he helped people to get pregnant and also help people to cure HIV with his herbal medicine, so i decided to give him a try, i am here today to give my own testimony on how this great man helped me to cure my HIV disease and also helped my sister to get pregnant, i just told him and he said he was going to work on it miraculously and in a short period of time i was lifted from these terrible disease. And it took my sister just a week to get pregnant after he was done. Contact this great man and He will help you no matter the the problem you are facing. Email him at maganasolutioncentre@gmail.com WhatsApp call +2349051208634.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute eugunett
    Favourite eugunett
    Report
    Jun 5th 2018, 1:47 PM

    I am indeed very happy for my life; My name is Vargas Cynthia I never thought that I will live on earth before the year runs out. I have been suffering from a deadly disease (HIV) for the past 5 years now; I had spent a lot of money going from one places to another, from churches to churches, hospitals have been my every day residence. Constant checks up have been my hobby not until last Month, I was searching through the internet, I saw a testimony on how DR. Ben helped someone in curing her HIV disease, quickly I copied his email which is (drbenharbalhome@gmail.com).I spoke to him, he asked me to do some certain things which I did, he told me that he is going to provide the herbal to me, which he did, then he asked me to go for medical checkup after some days after using the herbal cure, I was free from the deadly disease, he only asked me to post the testimony through the whole world, faithfully am doing it now, please brothers and sisters, he is great, I owe him in my life. if you are having a similar problems just email him on (drbenharbalhome@gmail.com) or simply whatsapp him on: +22893464014..He can also cure disease like Cancer, Diabeties, Herpes. Etc. You can reach me on email:vargascynthiamaye1995@gmail.com

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds