If we needed one more excuse to drink beer, now we have it. A team of researchers from the University of Porto (Portugal) has discovered that marinating meat with beer , meat that we will later cook on the barbecue, reduces the risk of cancer .
Cooking meat on the barbecue is a pleasure that almost everyone is satisfied with; However, this process (due to the high temperature at which it is cooked) causes the creation of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in substances such as oil, coal or tar, which damage DNA and they increase the risk of developing cancer.
To avoid this big “but” of grilling meat, we now have a great solution that will delight beer lovers. The team of researchers has discovered that if we carry out the process of marinating the meat with beer, the process of formation of these carcinogenic molecules stops. This happens because this drink is rich in free radicals and they block the creation of PAHs .
During the experiment , the scientists marinated pork tenderloin with three different beers: non-alcoholic beer, low-fermented alcoholic beer, and dark beer. After comparing the results of grilling these pieces of meat with an unmarinated piece, they found that dark beer reduced carcinogenic molecules by 53% , non-alcoholic beer by 25% and lower fermentation beer by 13%.
The study has been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry .
