Knowing the dangers of grilling and how to minimize your health risks is the smartest way to enjoy cook-outs in healthy moderation.
Let’s start with some basics. As you may know inflammation is the root cause of many diseases. Eliminating the foods and lifestyle habits that create inflammation is the first step to improving our health. There is a long list of acidic foods we should avoid or reduce but high on that list is meat and alcohol- two summer time barbeque standards. But don’t fret; balance is the key.
If you are consuming mostly vegetables, whole foods, some meat in moderation and doing your best to ensure that everything in your body is as pure as possible you are on a good track. After all, who could live without summer time barbeques? Our health is not based on one meal, but an entire lifetime of choices.
Here is what you need to know about grilling (and all cooking methods) as it relates to your health. When food is overcooked, it can create destructive compounds known as AGE’s. These are essentially created when food molecules have broken down at rapid speeds, usually due to high heat. Grilling, by its nature cooks food rapidly in certain parts- we have all seen the grill marks on a steak, or the charred affect it can have veggies.
These radical and destructive compounds attack our healthy cells, causing them to become inflamed as they desperately try to fight back. This in turn also sets off destructive free radicals, which run amok damaging the cells that keep you healthy and young.
IN the big picture, having some barbeque from time to time isn’t going to be so harmful but it is a wake up call that we should always be mindful to consume food with caution. Today’s modern diet is full of processed and fast foods. With this continuing trend, AGE’s become an overarching concern, even more so than an occasional barbeque, as these unhealthy foods are full of these harmful compounds.
If you do decide to grill this, be mindful of avoiding “char†on your meats, and try to choose veggies if they are available as an option. When you are not grilling, avoid fast foods as much as possible and supplement your dietary intake with living foods to provide it the nutritious protection it is seeking!
