81% of Americans own a barbecue
and 47% barbecue at least twice weekly in the summer months. The truth is, pretty much anything tastes better hot off the grill. It’s something about the flames, the smoke, the tongs, the-meat-on-metal sizzle that no broil or fry pan can reproduce. Even a tofu dog almost comes alive with a set of grill marks. Grilling: A May 28 Health article on the health effects of eating barbecued meat incorrectly referred to a scientist as Zei Wheng. His name is Wei Zheng. The article also said that many processed meats contain nitrates and that these have been shown to increase cancer risk. The chemicals most commonly used in curing meat today, and which also have been shown to increase cancer risk, are nitrites. Nothing that good can be good for us, of course. And yes, the natural chemicals that give barbecued foods their trademark crusty-brown smokiness are toxic and carcinogenic. Researchers have linked consumption of flame-grilled meat to all sorts of ailments: breast, prostate and colon cancer; diabetes; glaucoma; heart disease; and Alzheimer’s disease. Fumes from burning fat drippings, along with smoke from wood and charcoal, add another layer of carcinogenicity (as well as deliciousness) to grilled foods. And let’s not forget the foods themselves. A diet high in red meat — a favorite of U.S. backyard cooks — is a known cancer risk factor. “The existing literature is quite inconsistent, but I think it is reasonable to say that if there were large risks due to the cooking methods, we would have seen them by now,” says Dr. Walter Willett, Fredrick John Stare professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.