How healthy is your grilled/barbecued food

Grilling is the direct exposure of food to heat- roasting over open fire. In Texas and Africa (oh how we love Suya, grilled plantain, borle fish by the road side), almost every one likes barbecued food, so yummy but what happens when food is grilled. Grilling food helps to keep its flavor without additional fats. Grilling vegetable helps retain moisture, nutrients and flavor, making it a healthy cooking choice. It is excellent for preparing vegetables such like egg plant, peppers, apple, Zucchini, peaches, mushrooms etc. However, there is a down side to grilling, that isn't so good:

• Grilling temperature is high temperature- it burns the top layer of food very quickly releasing acrid fumes.
• It can cause fire outbreak
• When grilling animal food, the fat from the meat drips onto hot coals and are deposit into the grilled meat through the smoke creating a cancer causing substance called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
• The heating of meat, poultry and fish at high temperatures creates a carcinogenic substance called heterocyclic animes (HCAs), which has been linked to cancer in animals.
• Fried or boiled meat especially red meat are linked to the increase of certain kinds of cancer like colon cancer.
• When food containing nitrite as a preservative are heated a carcinogenic nitrosamines is formed; although there are no concrete evidence as to how this substance causes cancer in animals  or how it correlates to causing disease in humans however, the epidemiological evidence suggest that foods cooked at a high temperature should be consumed in moderation or avoided completely.

Tips for grilling healthy:

• To reduce the risk that comes with eating grilled food you can combine them with certain protective nutrients. Vitamin C and E, beta-carotene and other antioxidants can help to neutralize some of the carcinogens by blocking the chemical reaction that generates nitrosamines.
• Balance grilled food with a glass of vitamin C-rich citrus organic juice.
• Bioflavonoids helps to block some carcinogens.It is a pigment found in many fruits and vegetables. This substance binds directly to carcinogens such as polycyclic hydrocarbons; it helps prevent it from binding to DNA.
• Wheat bran binds with nitrite and makes it unavailable for nitrosamine formation. Fiber may bind with or dilute carcinogens and also it can speed up its elimination from the digestive tract.
• When you barbecue, serve lots of leafy greens and whole grains along with the meat or fish to ensure a healthy mixture of fiber and vitamins.
• Choose a Vegetarian barbecue. I would not grill fruits but if you do grill fruits, it is a colorful cocktail way to end a meal with vitamin, fiber and flavors.
• Avoid flare ups, if the smoke from grill is heavy - rotate the grill or reduce the heat or move it onto another section of the grill.
• Avoid placing heat directly on food.  Place the coals slightly to the side so that fat drips do not drip on coals.
• Keep water close to help you quench flare up or to stop the fire.
• Avoid animal fat grilled food.