While juicy steaks and burgers, fresh off the grill are delicious, and a pan-fried fillet of fish seems a healthy choice, cooking meats at temperatures over 300 degrees F, alters the chemical structure of the muscle fibers in meat. This could potentially be a problem for your long-term health.
Toxic Chemicals Produced
The National Cancer Institute notes there is a higher risk of developing cancer when you eat meats, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, cooked at high temperatures using methods such as grilling directly over an open flame or pan frying. Chemicals like heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are formed in the meats cooked above 300 degrees F. According to the National Cancer Institute, HCAs are not usually found in foods other than meat cooked at high temperatures, but PAHs can be found in other foods that are charred, cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes from motor vehicles.
HCA and Colorectal Cancer
Among the different types of cancers, ones that affect the digestive tract, especially the colon, should be of concern. There is an increase in the number of colorectal cancer cases among participants who consumed relatively the most dietary HCAs in an European study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in May 2009. According to this study, there is also a significant increased risk of developing of colorectal cancer even with eating meats that are strongly or extremely browned.
HCAs and Tumors
A study published in "Cancer Science" in 2004 states that while the content of HCAs in dishes consumed in ordinary life is low and not sufficient in itself to explain human cancer, there is a possibility that HCAs can induce instability in your genes to increase sensitivity to tumor promoting factors and therefore, it is highly recommended to reduce HCA exposure in your daily life, as much as possible.
Ways to Avoid HCAs and PAHs
You can take precautions to lower your HCAs and PAHS exposure. Researchers suggest, in a May 2005 paper published in "Nutrition Reviews," that you avoid direct exposure of meat to an open flame or a hot metal surface and avoid long cooking times, especially at high temperatures. Also continuously turning meat over on a heat source can significantly decrease the amount of HCA formed compared to leaving the meat in place without consistently flipping it. Remove charred parts of the meat and avoid using meat drippings to make gravy. An article published in "Meat Science" in June 2011 suggests taking off the skin of rotisserie or barbecue chicken before eating it reduces the amount of HCAs in the chicken from 16.3ng/g to 1.9ng/g.
References
- "Meat Science"; Heterocyclic Amine Content in Commercial Ready to Eat Meat Products; K. Puangsombat, et al.; June 2011
- "Nutrition Reviews"; Formation and Human Risk of Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amines Formed from Natural Precursors in Meat; Mark G. Knize, et al.; May 2005
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Heterocyclic Aromatic Amine Intake Increases Colorectal Adenoma Risk: Findings From a Prospective European Cohort Study; S. Rohrmann, et al.; May 2009
- The National Cancer Institute; Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk; December 2010
- "Carcinogenesis"; Heterocyclic Amines: Mutagens/Carcinogens Produced During Cooking of Meat and Fish; T. Sugimura, et al.; Apr 2004
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