Beer Marinade Could Reduce Levels of Potentially Harmful Substances
in Meats
July 19, 2014
Story at-a-glance
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Any time you cook meat at high temperatures carcinogenic
chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are formed
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Marinating pork in beer prior to grilling cut down on HCA
levels by up to 68 percent (with a darker lager offering the
most benefit)
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Other marinade ingredients, including olive oil, vinegar,
and lemon juice have also been shown to cut down on
carcinogenic cooking byproducts
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Also effective are spice rubs (garlic, oregano, cinnamon,
rosemary, black pepper, turmeric, and onions) and even fruit
(such as cherries), which can be added into ground meats
like burgers
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The longer the cooking time and the higher the heat, the
more HCAs, so cook your meat at the lowest temperature, and
for the shortest time, possible
By Dr. Mercola
In the US, 80 percent of households own a grill or smoker,
and 97 percent of grill owners had used it for cooking in the
past year.1
While the most popular grilling holidays are the Fourth of July,
Memorial Day, and Labor Day, about 60 percent of grillers use
their grill year-round.
While it’s encouraging that so many people enjoy cooking
their own meals at home, arguably one of the best choices you
can make, doing so on a grill is, unfortunately, not ideal for
your health, due to toxic grilling byproducts created in the
meat.
There’s good news though… simple (and tasty) steps can
significantly cut down on toxins in your meat and make grilled
meat healthier.
Cancer-Causing Substances Form in Grilled Meats
Any time you cook meat at high temperatures, whether you’re
grilling, frying, broiling, etc., some pretty nasty chemicals
are created. For instance, when fat drips onto the heat source,
causing excess smoke, the smoke surrounds your food and it can
transfer cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
to the meat.
Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are also formed when food is
cooked at high temperatures, and they’re also linked to cancer.
In terms of HCA, the worst part of the meat is the blackened
section, which is why you should always avoid charring your
meat, and avoid eating any blackened sections.
Scientists have estimated the
average cancer risk because of heterocyclic amine exposure
ranges from 1 per 10,000 for the average person to more than 1
per 50 for those ingesting large amounts of well-done muscle
meats (beef, pork, fish, and poultry), especially flame-grilled
chicken. Other research shows:2
- People who regularly eat well-done meat cooked at high
temperatures have a 60 percent greater risk of pancreatic
cancer3
- Both HCAs and PAHs are mutagenic, which means they cause
changes in DNA that may increase cancer risk, and have been
found to cause cancer in animals4
- A diet high in HCAs has been linked to tumors in the
breast, colon, liver, skin, lung, prostate, and other organs
in animals5
- Animals fed PAHs developed leukemia and tumors of the
gastrointestinal tract and lungs6
Beer Marinade Slashes Toxic PAHs in Grilled Meat
If you choose to grill meat, here’s a simple trick: marinate
it in beer first. When researchers marinated pork loin steaks in
beer for four hours, then grilled it to well-done on a charcoal
grill, it led to significantly lower amounts of PAHs in the
meat.7
Interestingly, certain types of beer worked better than
others (namely, the darker, presumably more antioxidant-rich
beer had the best effect). Specifically, compared to
non-marinated pork loin:8
- A pale lager marinade (pilsner) reduced the formation of
PAHs by 36.5 percent
- A nonalcoholic pilsner marinade reduced formation by 25
percent
- A black beer marinade (a dark lager) reduced PAHs by 68
percent
Past research also showed that marinating steak in red wine
or beer for six hours before cooking cut levels of two types of
HCAs by up to 90 percent.9
Beer was also efficient at reducing a third type of HCA, cutting
levels significantly in just four hours. In this study, the meat
was pan-fried, not grilled, a method also known to create toxic
byproducts.
Vinegar, Olive Oil, and Spices Also Cut Down on Carcinogens in
Cooked Meats
If you’re not a fan of beer or wine, you can swap those out
for other tasty marinade or rub ingredients like herbs, spices,
lemon juice, vinegar, and more. Although I highly recommend
making your own marinades at home (as store-bought varieties
often contain
high-fructose corn syrup and additives, including
MSG), even store-bought varieties were very effective at
reducing carcinogenic chemicals.
In one study, steaks were marinated for one hour prior to
grilling in one of three commercial marinades -- Caribbean,
Southwest, or herb. Each significantly decreased HCAs, as
follows:10
- The Caribbean mixture decreased total HCA content by 88
percent
- The herb marinade decreased HCAs by 72 percent
- The Southwest marinade decreased HCAs by 57 percent
Marinating steaks in a base mixture of oil, water, and
vinegar (without spices) was also effective at decreasing HCAs,
which means you can feel free to use whatever flavors suit your
palate. For instance, in one study adding a spice blend to
burgers reduced the level of malondialdehyde, a chemical marker
for oxidation, in the meat by 71 percent and levels in
participants’ urine by 49 percent.11
The following ingredients have all been shown to be effective
at lowering HCAs in various meats. You can add them in directly
to the meat (such as in hamburgers), via marinade or using a dry
rub:12
Cherries |
Dried plums |
Apples |
Garlic |
Virgin olive oil |
Teriyaki marinade |
Turmeric |
Onions |
Rosemary |
Grape seed extracts |
Cider vinegar |
Mustard |
Lemon juice |
Cloves |
Cinnamon |
Oregano |
Black pepper |
Paprika |
Ginger |
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A word of warning… traditional barbecue sauce made of tomato
solids and sugar is not the best choice for grilling.
One study found it caused a significant increase in chemical
formation – “doubling and even tripling” levels of HCAs after 15
minutes of cooking.13
Healthy Grilling Tips to Cut Down on Cooking Toxins
I do believe it’s best to limit the amount of grilled foods
you eat, but if it’s something you aren’t willing to give up,
use the tips that follow to make it far healthier for your body.
- You can reduce the amount of PAHs when you grill by not
cooking fatty meats, and by trimming the fat off before you
grill.
- When grilling, cook your food with indirect heat, such
as on a rack rather than directly on the coals. Cooking on a
cedar plank is also helpful.
- Always avoid charring your meat (and don't eat the black
or brown parts).
- Cook meat partially before putting it on the grill, or
cook smaller pieces of meat, which take less time to cook,
and therefore give HCAs less time to form.
- You can reduce the amount of another cooking byproduct,
advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), in your food by using
an acidic marinade that contains lemon juice or vinegar.
- Marinating meats before grilling or broiling them can
reduce HCAs (according to some experts by 90 percent or
more). However, only use natural ingredients for marinades,
and keep the coating thin to avoid charring.
- Flip your burgers often, as this will help cut down on
HCAs.
- Add
blueberries, cherries, garlic, or spices to your burgers,
as they can also help prevent the formation of HCAs.
Cherries appear to be particularly effective, with research
by food scientist J. Ian Gray showing “substituting ground
cherries for 11.5 percent of the meat in hamburger reduced
the formation of PhIP, the principal heterocyclic amine that
forms when this meat cooks. The cherry burger had about 10
percent of the amount of PhIP in a pure grilled hamburger.”14
- Add
vitamin E to your burgers. Research by Gray found that
mixing a 40-milligram vitamin E capsule into ground beef
works almost as well as ground cherries at inhibiting the
production of HCAs – without affecting taste.15
- Adjust your cooking temperature, even when using your
oven. Increasing oven temperature from 392 degrees F to 482
degrees F may triple the amount of HCAs created in beef.16
- Avoid grilling hot dogs, bratwurst, and other processed
meats, as these seem to be among the worst offenders.
- If grilling chicken,
remove the skin prior to cooking, and don’t eat the skin
if you do cook it, as it has the highest HCA content.
- Only grill high-quality, organic and grass-fed meats.
- Cook the meat as little as possible -- rare or
medium-rare at the absolute most. You can also quickly sear
the meat on both sides, leaving the inside mostly raw. This
gives the illusion that you’re eating cooked meat, with many
of the benefits of raw. Remember, with HCAs, the longer the
cooking time and the higher the heat, the more HCAs.
How to Help Neutralize Damage from HCAs You Do Consume
If you eat cooked foods, you’re probably consuming HCAs (and
other cooking byproducts). Aside from using marinades and spices
strategically to reduce their formation, another strategy is to
fortify your diet with superfoods known to help neutralize such
toxins. As reported in the Natural Medicine Journal,17
this is easy to do just by eating a diet rich in vegetables
(especially spinach and cruciferous varieties) and fermented
foods. Interestingly, if you indulge in an occasional beer, the
best time to do so might be along with your grilled meat, as the
yeast it contains may also help mitigate HCA toxicity.
“Genotoxic in vitro testing tells us that green tea,
black tea, rooibos tea, red wine, blueberries, blackberries,
red grapes, kiwi, watermelon, parsley, and spinach all
inhibit the mutagenic activity of certain HCAs. The chemical
sulforphane present in cruciferous vegetables has also been
shown to have antimutagenic effects against HCAs. The
bacteria found in fermented dairy foods also have a
neutralizing effect.
The yeast in beer appears to have a similar
neutralizing effect. Consuming beer in close proximity in
time to when barbecued meat is eaten is one of the most
effective ways to lower HCA mutagenicity. Dark or stout
beers are in some reports more effective than paler beers.
Green tea extracts also lower HCA mutagenic potential. Thus
incorporating any of these foods into meals containing
barbecued meat or poultry may lessen the mutagenic effect.”
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Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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