Cooking meat with beer can protect you from cancer

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) form when one cooks meats on a grill at very high temperatures. Previous studies conducted at the Universidade do Porto, in Portugal, shown an association between consumption of grilled meats and a high incidence of colorectal cancer. This doesn't mean that you need to stop eating grilled meat, it just means that you have to be mindful about potential carcinogens when you cook on the barbie.
But there are good news. Research published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has shown that some marinades can reduce the levels of these potential carcinogens in cooked meat.

The hero of the study is beer. After researchers grilled pork marinated for four hours in Pilsner beer, non-alcoholic Pilsner beer or black beer ale to well-done in a charcoal grill, they confirmed that beer reduces levels of PAHs.

“Black beer had the strongest effect, reducing the levels of eight major PAHs by more than half compared with unmarinated meat,” explained the researchers in a news release.

Wine and tea marinades can also reduce the levels of PAHs. So next time you are ready to grill on the barbie, remember this study and perhaps add some beer to your marinade.

Sources: Science Daily and Discovery News