Are You Following These 10 Safe Summer Grilling Tips?

*These tips are from Sophia Ruan Gushee. This post includes my affiliate links.

My family and I just love grilling on our Traeger grill, during the summer months. Every time my husband turns on the grill, I enjoy smelling the scent of it warming up. In fact, we are grilling some steaks for dinner tonight, can’t wait!

However, did you know that grilling can also create toxic compounds that are linked to adverse health effects that range from headaches and respiratory irritation to many forms of cancer? I never heard of this or knew about any of this stuff. Ugh.

Sophia Ruan Gushee, the author of A-to-Z of D-Toxing: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures, gives some tips below, on how to avoid cancer-causing chemicals and other toxic compounds while continuing to enjoy grilled meals all summer long!

1. Avoid “well done” burgers and steaks.
Cooking meats until they are well done poses two issues: By maximizing the cooking time, meat is exposed to high temperatures for longer (creating more HCA-laden char), and there is a greater opportunity for fat and juices to drip off (creating PAH-contaminated smoke). In 2005, a study from the National Cancer Institute found that “very well done meat was positively associated with prostate cancer risk.”

2. Get informed about marinades.
Marinades with acidic elements, such as beer, wine, vinegar, or lemon juice, prevent PAHs from sticking to cooked meats. Marinades that contain sugar, such as barbecue sauce, should only be used in the last few minutes of grilling, as they encourage charring. In fact, years ago, a study found that using barbecue sauce caused an increase in toxic chemicals that are formed during the grilling process.

3. Trim the fat.
Trimming meats will reduce the amount of fat that will drip into the grill, which forms PAH-contaminated smoke. This will reduce the toxicity of your meats!

4. Use a drip rack, or wrap foods in a foil packet.
Wrapping foods in a packet serves a similar purpose to trimming the fat: Less fat, juices, and smoke will contaminate meat with PAHs.

5. Turn the meats often
Scientific studies have found that continuously flipping the protein over high heat can reduce the formation of HCAs, in comparison to simply leaving meat on the heat source.

6. Remove the charred portions
Charred bits contain HCAs in their purest form, so eliminating them from your meal is a high-impact way to make grilling safer.

7. Incorporate more veggies
HCAs form when amino acids and creatine — a chemical found in muscle tissue — react at high cooking temperatures. According to experts, since vegetables don’t contain creatine, grilling vegetables and fruits is healthier than grilling meats. Plus, many vegetables have cancer-fighting and immune-boosting properties.

8. Keep your grill clean
Charred, carcinogenic residues that contain high concentrations of HCAs can stick to the grill after each use and contaminate future meals. Research “nontoxic ways to clean a grill” online for healthy ways to remove these charred bits. It can be as easy as using aluminum foil and vinegar.

9. Choose thinner cuts of meats
Thinner cuts of meat will require less cooking time, which will reduce the meat’s exposure to high temperatures, and therefore, carcinogenic chemicals.

10. Reduce your use of lighter fluid
If you’re using a charcoal grill, remember that petroleum-based lighter fluid has been found to release VOCs, which can be inhaled and contaminate your food. Healthier fire starters include chimneys and electric charcoal starters.

These are great tips from Sophia Ruan Gushee. I need to do a few things on that list above. For one, my grill is not very tidy. It could use some scrubbing I am embarrassed to say. We use it so much that sometimes we just forget!

What Tips Would You Add To This Helpful List?