CANCER AND DIET 2

 Hey there,

Welcome to another edition of Healthy Edibles Weekly Newsletter.

It is the second week of our Cancer Awareness Campaign and this week we’ll be sharing the Health Impacts of Smoked Food.

We all love perfectly smoked meat (which is popularly referred to as “suya” or “asun” in this part of the world). We don’t mind sitting down to a wrap of that perfectly smoked “mallam suya” with garri, oats, pap or whatever we love to combine it with. While eating suya, roasted corn, smoked guinea fowl and smoked pepper chicken can be tasty, satisfying and pleasurable, it is not so healthy.

Smoked food contains harmful chemicals known as Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Heterocyclic amines (HCAs). When smoking food at high temperatures or with direct heat, the food tends to blacken; those blackened areas contain HCAs. Also the oil that drips into the fire while smoking produces smoke containing PAHs that cling to the surface of food and even the skin.

These chemicals are very harmful and can lead to different types of cancer such colon cancer, skin cancer such as melanoma and other respiratory diseases. 

However we do not intend to scare you. Rather, we want to enlighten you on more healthy ways to cook and eat smoked food. 

Use thin strips of meat that will cook faster when smoking to avoid longer cooking time.

Avoiding smoking food at high temperatures or with direct heat. Use grillers instead, preferably the electric griller or pellet griller.

Trim any fat on the body of the meat to prevent oil from dropping into the fire.

Steam or marinate your meat a little before smoking, to ensure shorter cooking time and tastier meat.

Refrain from eating the burnt, blackened or charred part of meat or any other smoked food.

Clean your grill before and after use and use aluminum foil on the surface of your griller to avoid smoky flare.

In all, smoked food should be taking sparingly and occasionally. They should also be eaten with a lot of vegetables and fruit slices. That way we can reduce the risk of cancer in our bodies.

Thank you for reading this.

Please do well to share with your friends. You can ask us questions on any grey area via any of our platforms.

Till we meet again, please remember to stay safe and join in the fight against cancer.

All our Love.