With the rising temperatures, we feel like grilling! Meat, fish, vegetables – you can prepare all kinds of delicacies on the grill. But that’s not always healthy. We explain which 3 unhealthy mistakes you should definitely avoid when grilling.
Barbecuing is simply part of summer – regardless of whether you are a meat eater, vegetarian or vegan. In summer temperatures, barbecuing is one of the favorite pastimes of people in Germany. In a statista survey from 2019, 97 percent of those surveyed answered the question of whether they like to grill with “yes”. And depending on what and how you grill, grilled food can be healthy too. Conversely, some typical mistakes can also lead to the meal becoming a calorie bomb or even a health hazard.
Grilling: Avoid these 3 unhealthy mistakes
- Buying pre-marinated meat from the supermarket Of course, it is less complicated if you buy pre-marinated meat from the supermarket. Still, you should avoid this unhealthy mistake in the future as you never know exactly what ingredients have been processed. The marinade often contains sugar and flavor enhancers such as glutamate. Make your own marinade instead – it’s healthier and tastes better too.
- Eating burnt meat Burnt meat
is still eaten by many barbecue lovers. But you should refrain from that in the future. When meat or fish is heated at very high temperatures, combustion products are produced which settle on the surface of the meat and can be carcinogenic. These mainly include heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The nutritionist Antje Gahl from the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) explains: “PAHs are caused by the burning of fat, i.e. where it smokes.” HAA, on the other hand, is formed when searing, for example protein-rich fish or meat. - Potatoes or bread on the grill for too long
Carcinogenic substances are also produced when starchy foods such as potatoes or bread are left on the grill for too long. If these are heated for too long or at too high temperatures, the substance acrylamide can form. So make sure that you pre-cook the potatoes, for example, and only put them on the grill for a short time.
