Well Done? Bad News!

Everyone knows grilled food is healthier, right? Not if you like it well done. But we've got a marinade for that...

Grilling your food can be a healthy way to go, but depending on how you do it, it can also produce toxic compounds. A new study found that people who preferred their steaks well-done were about 60% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer. But if you do it right, you can be grilling up fewer toxins:

Marinate. 15 to 20 minutes prior to grilling changes the molecular structure of meat protein and reduces the carcinogens by 90%.

Season with spices. Coating the meat with antioxidant herbs and spices makes it safer. Rosemary, ginger and garlic are a few of the really good ones.

Cooler Cooking. Meats cooked at a lower temperature for two minutes longer have much lower levels of toxins. Raising the grill rack helps too. You want to avoid the fat drippings from flaring back up onto your food.

Grilled vegetables don't pose a problem. By grilling smaller portions of meat on one side of the grill, and more veggies on the other, you'll get less of the bad stuff and more of the good.

Source: Karen Collins, RD, American Institute for Cancer Research