Now that summer is in full swing, barbecues are a perfect way to relax, and spend time with family and friends. With proper planning and a little bit of knowledge you can ensure that your barbecue is not only fun, but you can ensure that you have a barbecue that is a healthy and safe barbecue too. 

Health and Nutrition Expert Jeff Behar offers some great advice on how to have a healthy barbecue without letting your health or your physique go up in smoke:

• Use healthy cuts of meet for grilling. If you are going to grill red meat, look for those with "loin" in the name, such as pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, and lamb loin chops. For beef, also look for round steaks and roasts, and choose ground beef labeled at least 95 percent lean.

• Experiment with other healthier sources of protein, such as fish, chicken, turkey and even tofu. If marinated and/or seasoned right even the most discerning meat-lover may enjoy the healthy alternative for a change.

• Replace fattening side dishes with healthier versions. There are many low fat and fat free barbecuing recipes now that you can replace fattening side dishes with low fat versions, such as macaroni salad. 

• Control portions. Keep meat portions small by cutting them in chunks and removing excess fat. Combine them with vegetables and make kabobs. Serve any kind of meat as an accent to a meal rather than the main dish. To reduce the amount of meat eaten, consider serving healthy veggie kabobs or chicken kabobs.

• Try grilling the vegetables or fruits as a added way to increase your servings of healthy vegetables into your diet. It is also a great way to reduce the urge to reach for common unhealthy side dishes such as potato salad, coleslaw, etc. Good choices include grilled onions, grilled zucchini, grilled yams, and grilled asparagus. Grilled pineapple and grilled bananas also make a delicious treat. As a general rule, don't peel vegetables before grilling. You'll get more nutrients and enjoy a smokier flavor if they aren't peeled.
  

• Cut off all excess fat from meat and poultry. Not only does the excess fat add calories and clog arteries increasing the risk for heart disease, it can also cause flare-ups on the grill, which increase the formation of cancer causing compounds.  Additionally when fat drips into the fire causing a 'flare-up', the flames and smoke that rise up onto the meats leave another carcinogenic group of substances called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

• Watch the smoke when grilling meat. Grilling, while considered a lean way to cook, creates carcinogenic (cancer-causing substances) compounds called HCAs (heterocyclic amines) when meat is blackened and charred. Grilling any type of meat, even chicken or fish, until it's charred or burned can increase your chances of getting several forms of cancer, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Charred meat has been linked to an increased risk of several cancers, including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, and as of late; the highly deadly pancreatic cancer. Grilling vegetables and fruits does not create carcinogenic compounds, so there is no cancer risk; another good reason to add more vegetables to your barbecue menu.

If you do choose to barbecue grill meat, stay clear of burning it, and follow these tips to reduce your cancer risk:

• Grill less fatty meats. It is the dripping fat on the coals that cause the flare ups that create the carcinogenic compounds that increase cancer risk. The less fat the meat contains the less likely to create carcinogens (PAHs and HCAs) and cause flare-ups caused by dripping fat.

• Choose fish over meat and poultry. Fish contains less fat than meat and poultry do, therefore there are less flare-ups. Fish also requires less time on the grill, reducing its exposure to carcinogens.

• Precook your foods. The higher the temperature at which food cooks and the longer it stays on the grill, the more carcinogens develop. Partially cooking meat or poultry indoors (by boiling, microwaving, indoor grilling or using an oven) for two to five minutes draws out most of the potentially harmful chemicals without sacrificing moistness. Boiling the meat immediately before grilling also reduces the fat of the meat which will limit the amount of blackening. If you've never tried this, you'd be amazed how much fat comes out in the water.

• Do not overcook your meat. The longer you grill your meat, the more the carcinogens develop. If you cook meat just to doneness, and don't form a lot of external charring or brownness, you will not form high levels of cancer causing compounds. The charred bits on foods are the largest sources of PAHs and HCAs so if you have charred sections of meat cut them off.

• Cook the food in the center of the grill and move coals to the side. This will prevent fat and juices from dripping on them and reduce flare-ups.

• Lower the heat when grilling. On charcoal grills, increase the distance between the food and the hot coals by spreading the coals thin or by propping the grill rack on bricks. On gas grills, just lower the flame. Lowering the flame reduces charring.Stick to charcoal and hardwood. Barbecue briquettes and hardwood products, such as maple and hickory burn at lower temperatures than softwood  chips, like pine.

• Spread aluminum foil on the grill to reduce flare-ups. Just make sure to make small holes in the foil to allow fat to drain.

• Flip meat frequently. This reduces the amount of carcinogens that arise.

• Using tongs to turn foods. Puncturing meats with a fork may cause juices to flow and drip on to the coals. 

• Keep your grill clean. Scrub your grill thoroughly after every use to avoid a buildup of carcinogens from charred food that can be transferred to your food the next time you grill.

•  Lightly oil your grill. By lightly oiling the grill the food will not stick and then charred. It also helps keep charred material from sticking to the food. Studies indicate that charred food contain benzo pyrenes, are carcinogenic compound implicated in increase cancer risk.

• Marinate with herbal antioxidants. Recently scientists at the Food Safety Consortium project at Kansas State University have discovered that herbs of the Lamiaceae family (Basil, Mint, Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, and Sage) used in marinades reduced HCA formation dramatically. These herbal antioxidants reduce the formation of free radicals (bad stuff) when meat hits heat. A citrus or olive oil marinade can also counteract HCA buildup. Such marinades may reduce HCA formation in meat and fish by up to 99 percent.

• Add anti-cancer soy to the mix. Mix 1/2-cup of textured soy protein into a pound of ground meat before grilling. This cuts 95-percent of the expected HCAs in burgers without affecting taste.

• Give the meal a Vitamin E boost. 20 milligrams of vitamin E powder mixed into or sprinkled on 3.5-ounce patties can reduce HCA formation as much as 72-percent. You can use a capsule of vitamin and crack it open for contents.

Bottom Line on Healthy Grilling

If your food does char, you can always just cut the burned part off and continue to enjoy your food!

Related Articles on Barbecuing and Healthy Grilling

• Tips for Avoiding Food Poisoning at Summer Time BBQs

• The Low Fat Fat Free Healthy Summertime BBQ

• Titillating Turkey Burgers for a Healthy BBQ 

• Healthy Veggie Kabob Recipe

About the Author

Jeff Behar, MS, MBA