Cancer-causing traps you must know when barbecuing during Mid-Autumn Festival! Nutritionist teaches "Traffic Light BBQ Secrets" to grill healthy and delicious food

When the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival comes, what people look forward to most are eating moon cakes, eating barbecue, peeling grapefruit, watching the moon and fireworks, and other leisure and entertainment activities for reunion and celebration. Especially the "one family barbecue, thousands of families smell the aroma", the burnt aroma wafting in the air is the most familiar scene and taste for every Taiwanese. However, nutritionist Cai Yuqi from the Nutrition Department of Catholic St. Martin's Hospital reminds us that behind the burnt aroma there are cancer-causing traps of barbecue that we must be aware of!

"One family barbecues, and the aroma spreads through thousands of families." The roasted aroma in the air is the most familiar scene and taste for every Taiwanese. However, nutritionist Cai Yuqi from the Nutrition Department of Catholic St. Martin's Hospital reminds us that behind the burnt aroma there are cancer-causing traps of barbecue that we must be aware of!

When people hear the word "barbecue", do they think of the aroma and fragrance that makes them salivate? This is the Maillard reaction commonly used in food cooking, which heats sugar and protein to produce an appealing and delicious flavor and color. However, people must be careful that if the meat is heated at too high a temperature, it will produce charred substances (heterocyclic amines, acrylamide), and the barbecue fumes (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are potential carcinogens.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies "processed meat" as a Class 1 carcinogen (there is sufficient evidence that it causes cancer) and "red meat" as a Class 2 carcinogen (very likely to cause cancer). Ingesting more than 50 grams of processed meat or 100 grams of red meat per day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 17-18%. It would be terrible if people grilled "processed meat" or "red meat" and then overheated it to produce carcinogens and then ate it!

Traffic Light BBQ secrets, grill healthy and delicious

Although you don’t have to be too restrained about eating during the Mid-Autumn Festival, for people who value health preservation in modern times, it is important to know how to eat healthily. Follow nutritionist Cai Yuqi to learn the "Traffic Light BBQ Secrets" and fine-tune the BBQ menu together! People can choose green lights and avoid red lights in three aspects: ingredients, seasoning, and cooking:

Ingredients:

Ingredients. (Form provided by nutritionist Cai Yuqi)

Judgment method: Red - Beware of traps, Green - Please collect if you are satisfied

Ingredients

Red - Be careful with traps / internal organs, skin parts

Green - Please collect if you are satisfied / processed meat, low-fat meat, fish, soy

Ingredients changes

Red-Beware of traps/Meat and seafood feast

Green - Please collect if you are satisfied / Various colorful vegetables, fruits and mushrooms.

Ingredients

Red - Beware of traps / Don’t be too picky when you are full

Green - Please collect if you are satisfied / 70% full is just right

Thirst quenching pairing

Red - Beware of traps / carbonated sugary drinks, alcohol

Green-Please collect if you are satisfied / Sugar-free tea, boiled water, fresh fruit and vegetable juice

●Seasoning:

Seasoning. (Form provided by nutritionist Cai Yuqi)

Judgment method: Red - Beware of traps, Green - Please collect if you are satisfied

Dipping sauce

Red - Beware of traps / heavy hot and sour sauce, shacha, cream

Green - Please collect if you are satisfied / pepper, lemon, salt and onion sauce

Adding materials

Red-Beware of traps/Cheese, kimchi, rice cakes

Green - Please collect if you are satisfied / sesame, garlic, lettuce, seaweed

●Cooking:

Cooking. (Form provided by nutritionist Cai Yuqi)

Judgment method: Red - please be careful of traps, Green - please collect if you are satisfied.

High temperature baking

Red - Beware of traps / Charcoal grilling, burnt

Green - Please collect if you are satisfied / Stone slab iron plate baking tray, cook and then bake

Food wrapping

Red - Be careful with traps / Leaking and contact with oil smoke may cause burns

Green-Please collect if you are satisfied/Aluminum foil

Nutritionists teach tips to make barbecue healthier

After we learned the barbecue dietary principles of stop at red lights and go at green lights from the traffic light barbecue secrets, nutritionists You Weiming and Cai Yuqi from the Nutrition Room of St. Martin's Catholic Hospital will share some tips to help people upgrade their barbecue health, which can also be applied to their daily diet.

1. Eat some antioxidant foods when eating barbecue:

High-temperature grilling is one of the main factors that increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, in addition to lowering the grilling temperature to reduce the production of heterocyclic amines, we can also add a little garlic slices and vegetables (comb zucchini, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, onions) to enhance the body's antioxidant capacity and balance the greasy feeling of grilling.

2. Get up and move around more when grilling:

Many activities can be enjoyed during the barbecue, such as taking a walk to enjoy the moon, painting, singing and chatting, playing board games, playing Switch games, and setting off fireworks. These activities not only help to create a pleasant atmosphere, but also help promote gastrointestinal motility, aid digestion, and control blood sugar after the meal.

3. Calorie control for the next day's main meal:

Did you eat too much barbecue the day before? Don’t worry about the heat. The next day we can avoid high-fat, high-refined starch, and high-sugar foods, and choose refreshing fruits and vegetables with low-fat, high-quality protein (tofu, chicken breast) to balance it out. This is an effective way to control calories, reduce hunger, and balance nutrition.

Nutritionist's Private BBQ Menu

Salt and Scallion Dipping Sauce: Prepare scallions, salt and sesame oil and mix well. Use it as a dipping sauce or marinade.

Refreshing vegetable wrapped meat: prepare lettuce, grapefruit juice, and grilled meat slices, then wrap them together to enjoy the refreshing flavor.

Grilled meat and vegetable skewers: prepare bell pepper slices, green beans, king oyster mushrooms, and meat chunks, skewer them on bamboo skewers and grill them.

Shrimp and pineapple skewers: prepare shrimp and pineapple pieces, alternately thread them on bamboo skewers and fry them.

Meat slices and corn shoots rolls: prepare thin slices of meat, put corn shoots on them, roll them up, put them on bamboo skewers and fry them.

Nutritionist Cai Yuqi said that the above barbecue menus can all be combined with low-fat meat and colorful vegetables and fruits. People can make good use of seasonal local ingredients and enjoy a delicious and balanced barbecue diet when having a barbecue with relatives and friends!