A Safer Way to BBQ

Do you have a summer BBQ on your social calendar coming up?

While everyone is entitled to enjoy a delicious hamburger or juicy steak, I want to educate you on safe BBQ practices when it comes to the food we grill.

Now, don’t get me wrong – grilling meat is not necessarily bad for you, but we should balance it with spices, herbs and more vegetables. Marinating your meat correctly will cut down on dangerous carcinogens that are created during the grilling process.

Here are some tips to healthy grilling:

Marinating a product you’re about to grill is a good way to dramatically reduce (sometimes up to 80%) the formation of HCAs – heterocyclic amines. HCAs are carcinogens produced in muscle foods when cooked at a high temperature.
Meat quality does make a difference – look for meat from “grass-fed”, “pastured”, “forged” or “wild animals”. You could also purchase organic meat or ones that claim to be “raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones”.
Practice portion control. That triple patty cheeseburger may not be the best choice for your health. Eat sensible portions – just a few ounces of meat, poultry or fish. And load up on those veggies!
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed an average of 71% lower malondialdehyde (which is a compound that is mutagenic and carcinogenic) when hamburger meat was mixed with a little over two teaspoons of a spice blend containing cloves, cinnamon, oregano, rosemary, ginger, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
Another study from the Journal of Food Science found in 2008 that simply marinating steaks in store bought spice mixes for one hour prior to grilling reduced HCA production by up to 88%. You can easily add any of these antioxidant rich items as a marinade or rub onto meat: chopped dried sour cherries, rosemary, thyme, ginger, turmeric, oregano, black pepper, paprika, garlic, sage, cloves, and cinnamon.
Add lots of vegetables to your grilling routine. It’s another delicious way to prepare veggies and research has shown that the vegetables may help counteract the negative aspects of the meat.
The antioxidants in red wine can also decrease HCAs. So marinade in it…then have a glass for yourself!

Looking for other ways to keep your family healthy? Click here to learn about My Family Health Makeover and get information, recipes and more:

Leann Forst, MBA, CHC, CEOC — Holistic Health Practitioner

Leann is a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner and Certified Essential Oils Coach. She holds a Master’s degree from Drake University and a Bachelor of Science from Upper Iowa University. Accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, Leann is an award winning author of 2 books “How to Get Your Kids to Beg for Veggies” and “100 Ways to Lose Weight”.

Born and raised as an Iowa farm girl, she moved to Texas in 1998 where she lives with her husband and 2 kids.

As a wife of a brain cancer survivor, Leann has a special interest in anti-cancer nutrition and detoxification. She works with individuals and groups, and speaks regularly at hospitals, schools and organizations. Leann’s goal is to teach people how to attain optimal health by getting to the root cause of chronic and inflammatory conditions, while using healing modalities such as essential oils. Click here to get Leann’s free report, “37 Cancer Facts You Should Know…But Probably Don’t”