Do Grilled Foods Cause Cancer?

Summer is our national grilling season, and some of us like our burgers, hot dogs, and vegetables charred. But charred foods can contain carcinogens—chemicals or substances that have the potential to cause cancer.  

What’s a grillmaster to do? Columbia cancer researcher Mary Beth Terry, PhD, who studies cancer epidemiology and prevention at the Mailman School of Public Health and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, explains how to avoid creating potentially cancer-promoting agents. 

Does grilling cause cancer?

There's no straight line between eating food cooked on a grill and getting cancer, but cooking over an open flame can lead to development of carcinogens in meat. 

If you're at higher risk for getting cancer, your risk may increase from these kinds of exposures, says Dr. Terry.

How does grilling create cancer-causing chemicals?

When cooking over high heat, especially an open flame, you are exposed to two main carcinogens: heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Studies show HCAs and PAHs cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer. 

• HCAs develop in meat when amino acids and creatine (muscle proteins) react to high heat. Time is your enemy: The amount of HCAs increases the longer meat is exposed to the heat.  
• PAHs are chemicals produced as fat burns in the flame and can attach to meat cooking over an open fire. When grilling, you’re also exposed to PAHs in smoke. (Cigarette smoke and air pollution also contain PAHs, which partly explains why smoking and air pollution are linked to different cancers). 

The good news about grilling: Vegetables do not have muscle proteins, but excessive charring can create benzopyrene and other carcinogens.  

How to reduce risk of cancer when grilling

“You can reduce your risk of developing cancer at any stage of life,” says Dr. Terry. Carcinogens can change your DNA, but your DNA has repair mechanisms working all the time. The fewer repairs these mechanisms have to make, the less chance you’ll get cancer.

• Shorten grill time. You can reduce the time that meat is exposed to extreme heat and flames by cutting it into smaller pieces before grilling. Marinating and/or partially cooking with another heat source (oven, microwave, pan) before grilling also helps lower the time spent on the grill. 
• Shorten flame exposure time. Flip food frequently and cook on the most indirect heat (yes, this means gas grills may be safer).
• Eat more vegetables. Since vegetables don't have muscle proteins, grilling them doesn't produce HCAs. Avoid charring them to reduce exposure to other carcinogens. 
• Don’t binge eat BBQ. It's easier for your body to repair damage caused by carcinogens if you're exposed to them slowly. Plus, eating too much of something in a short time can make it harder for your body to metabolize the meal. Try to limit how much and how often you eat grilled and smoked meat.

While eating grilled foods doesn't directly cause cancer, enjoying them in moderation can help lower your risk.