2023-07-07 16:30:00
HEALTH ON YOUR PLATES. From the ignition to the choice of food through cooking, the barbecue requires a few precautions so that the taste is perfect and healthy.
By Boris Hansel, with Guillaume Paret (video)
Published on 07/07/2023 at 6:30 p.m.
Every Friday, find, on Le Point.fr, the nutrition chronicle of Professor Boris Hansel, endocrinologist and nutritionist at the Bichat hospital in Paris. He is also the host of the health channel PuMS on YouTube.
Barbecue cooking is not, in itself, dangerous to health. You can enjoy it without risk, provided you follow a few tips. I am only talking about the nutritional aspects, not the risk of accidents. That’s another topic.
In nutrition, when we talk about barbecues, we are wary first of all of cooking at very high temperatures. Above 200 or 300 degrees, especially when food touches the flame directly, this leads to the formation of toxic products. In particular PAHs: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. When we inhale or ingest these products, it promotes cancer. And other effects, such as increased blood pressure, have also been reported. The goal of the game is to barbecue while limiting the production of these toxins.
READ ALSOAre sorbets (really) healthier than ice cream? First tip, if possible, use a vertical cooking barbecue. If you have a horizontal cooking barbecue, position the grill so that the flames do not touch the food. You must be at least 10 cm from the embers.
In addition, wait until the firelighters, whatever they are, have burned completely before putting the food on the grill.
Another essential advice to avoid being exposed to PAHs: in meats, the drops of fat flow on the embers and cause flames and smoke which deposit PAHs on the food. To limit this risk, remove visible fat from meats or opt for lean meats, it’s even better!
Cook to heart
With this, exposure to toxic carcinogens has been limited. But there is another risk when you make one, always apart from accidents: it is foodborne infection. Meat and fish are fairly easily contaminated by microorganisms, especially bacteria. To avoid this, take them out of the fridge at the last moment.
Remember to wash your hands when handling raw meat. And, as in the kitchen, do not use the same equipment for what you are going to cook and what you are going to eat raw: you risk contaminating your raw vegetables with micro-organisms present in raw meat.
And, to eliminate these microbes from meat and fish, cook them thoroughly. Of course, remember to clean the equipment well before and after use.
READ ALSOHere are 7 secrets to eating betterFinally, more than the cooking itself, the disadvantage of the barbecue is the quantity of meat that we eat, especially if it is frequent. Regardless of cooking methods, red meat is classified as a probable carcinogen. We should limit its consumption to 500 g max per week. For white meat, there is no established limit, because it is not known, but it is reasonable not to eat it every day.
As usual, almost everything is allowed in nutrition. There are just precautions to take to stay healthy!
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