What Happens to Grilled Meat?

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Cooking is a form of chemistry. As you apply heat to different types of organic material (food), you get a chemical reaction you find either pleasing or distasteful. Meat, vegetables and fruit go through a unique process specific to the chemicals and nutrients found in them.

Different types of cooking produce different types of chemical reactions. This is why foods cooked in the oven will taste different than those sautéed on the stove or grilled over an open flame.

The addition of spices and marinades also changes the chemicals present during the cooking process and therefore the chemical reactions occurring while you cook.

Unfortunately, grilling gives you both a distinctive flavor combination in the meat and vegetables, as well as changes to the foods that may produce cancer causing chemicals.

Three important chemicals potentially produced during grilling are heterocyclic amines (HCAs), advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

These chemicals are formed in muscle meat when it's cooked at high temperatures. Even cooking at high temperatures over the stove can cause the formation of these chemicals in the meat.² In experiments in laboratory animals, HCAs are mutagenic.

AGEs, also known as glycotoxins, are present in your body and in the meat you eat. These are highly oxidant compounds linked to increased inflammation and oxidation stress in your body.⁶ Damage by AGEs has been associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseas

he formation of AGEs in your body is a normal part of metabolism. The addition of more AGEs from the food you eat increases the likelihood the amount of circulating AGEs will become pathogenic. Grilling, broiling, frying and searing foods increases the formation of AGEs in the meat you eat.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

PAHs don't originate in the meat, but rather from the wood, gas or coal you use for the fire. They are also formed when fat from the meat drips on the grill and creates smoke.¹³ The compound is in the smoke and is deposited on anything within reach.

This means the PAHs will cling to the meat and your clothing, and you will inhale them as you stand over the grill. Exposure is known to cause skin, liver and stomach cancers in lab animals.¹⁴

Tips for Safer Grilling

You don't have control over the way food is grilled at restaurants or your friend's house. However, you can make changes at home to reduce your potential for ingesting high levels of HCAs, PAHs or AGEs, all of which are known carcinogenic chemicals resulting from grilling.

Various herbs and spices can help flavor your food. The following have also been found to help reduce the amount of HCAs and AGEs produced when grilling.¹⁹ By adding them into your burger patties or using them as a rub, you can decrease the risks associated with this popular cooking method.