I advise you to eat less barbecue, not just because it will make you fat!

Barbecue has a very early origin, starting from the time of our primate ancestors. As the weather gets warmer, foodies can sit on the street and eat skewers and experience the fresh air of life.

Although barbecue is delicious, eating too much of it is not good for your health. Today we are going to talk about the specific harms of barbecue and how we can eat it in a relatively healthier way.

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01 Harms of eating barbecue

There are many reasons why I advise you to eat less barbecue. The first is that it will make you fat.

The barbecued meat with fat and lean parts is particularly popular, such as pork belly, soy sauce tendons, and even cooked tendons, pork skin, and pig intestines. They are greased with oil over and over again during the barbecue process. The reason why these meat skewers are delicious is because they are high in fat, so they taste good, and the calories are naturally not low. Eating them often will inevitably make you gain weight, and even increase the risk of obesity, which is not good for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.

Second, it is not conducive to blood pressure control. The salt content of the marinade and dipping sauce used for pickled meat skewers is not low, and eating them frequently is not conducive to blood pressure control.

Third, it is not conducive to controlling uric acid. Many people like to order seafood such as oysters and scallops when eating barbecue, and drink a few bottles of beer at the same time, which may lead to increased blood uric acid and may induce gout.

Fourth, there are carcinogens. Barbecue is a high-temperature cooking method, with the temperature reaching up to 370 degrees Celsius. At such a high temperature, meat will produce heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, both of which are carcinogens, and the content of carcinogens will gradually increase with the increase of temperature and time. Among them, polycyclic fentanyl includes 3,4-phenylpyrene, which is a class I carcinogen and is clearly carcinogenic to humans.

In addition, toasted steamed bread slices, toasted bread slices, toasted potato slices, etc. will produce acrylamide, which is a Class 2A carcinogen. This ingredient has been proven to cause cancer in animals, but there is limited evidence that it causes cancer in humans.

02 Tips for eating barbecue

Although we know that barbecue is unhealthy, some people just can't stop. So how can we reduce the harm when eating barbecue outside?

In order to let everyone enjoy the food happily, the following 4 points are best arranged:

First, remove the burnt parts. The higher the grilling temperature and the longer the grilling time, the higher the carcinogen content. It is best to remove the burnt parts and not eat them, because the more burnt the parts are, the higher the carcinogen content is.

You also need to wipe the head of the barbecue skewer before eating.

Second, choose lean meat. Lean meat has a low fat content, which is very helpful for weight control and can also reduce the intake of saturated fatty acids. Because if the fat content is high, it will further promote the formation of carcinogens, so lean meat is relatively safer.

Third, don’t just eat meat. Many people eat skewers full of meat, but eating a lot of meat is not good for cardiovascular health and will increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, obesity and other diseases. It is best to pair it with some staple foods, vegetables, and soy products, which will help increase satiety and control the amount of meat you eat.

Fourth, pair it with fresh fruits and vegetables. Lycopene, carotene, anthocyanins, etc. in fresh fruits and vegetables

They all contain antioxidant ingredients. Eating barbecue with tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, cherry tomatoes, leeks, lettuce, sweet peppers, colored peppers, etc. can reduce damage.

How to relieve worries? Only barbecue. Since you can't resist the temptation of barbecue, then enjoy it to your heart's content. After all, delicious food can really make people happy. What needs to be reminded is not to eat it every day. Once or twice a month is not a problem. And when eating barbecue, you must drink less alcohol and sweet drinks!

The article is produced by Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project (Creation and Cultivation). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

Author: Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutrition technician, health manager, public nutritionist

Reviewer: Dou Pan, deputy director of the Clinical Nutrition Department, Peking University First Hospital, nutritionist