Grilling is one of the most well-known and well-loved activities all across the world. Whether it’s done in the summer alongside waterslides and backyard games or just a way to spend time with your family on the back deck, barbecuing has become a worldwide staple. So, it isn’t all that hard to see why people love to fire up their grills and toss a few burgers or hotdogs on it to cook.
There is a concern, though, that serving up grilled meat and veggies isn’t all that healthy, what with all the char and drippings and oil that’s often used or made. Fortunately, many of those claims are wrong, and grilling has quite a few benefits that can actually improve your health. While it isn’t the healthiest form of cooking, grilling is still a much better idea when compared to some of the other methods used.
To convince you that grilling is one of the best ways to cook and to show some of the benefits of grilling, we’ve collected some of them in this article. You can also click here if you want to learn more about barbecue grills, their accessories or if you just want to get a grill for your own backyard. The site also sells a wide range of sauces and rubs as well, if you want to add a classic taste to your pork ribs or steaks.
Meat Retains Its Nutrients
One of the many health benefits grilling has on food is that the meat you cook often has a far higher level of nutrients than if you cooked it using another method. Beef, pork, chicken and lamb often contain a high level of protein, as many people know. That level of protein is one of the main sources of protein in an average person’s diet. However, what many people might not know is that these kinds of meat are also quite rich in a wide range of other nutrients, such as the B vitamins, riboflavin, iron and zinc.
When you grill meat using your barbecue, you frequently need to use high heats in order to cook quickly and efficiently. That high heat quickly sears and denatures the meat’s cells and layers. This allows all those vitamins and other nutrients to be retained, since there isn’t any water or excess oil used that could leach them out. So, when your steak or burgers are served, the iron and other nutrients are allowed to enter the body and get absorbed.
Veggies Are Much Healthier Grilled
In much the same way, grilling vegetables also helps make them far healthier than when they’re cooked in other ways. Much like grilling the different kinds and cuts of meat, the high heat used to grill veggies sears and denature their outer layers, allowing them to retain the nutrients. Additionally, some vegetables have a lower water content which often leads to their nutrients breaking down much faster when boiled or sauteed. Since the heat dries and cooks the outside first, the veggies you cook can remain moist but still soft after grilling.
Grilling Takes You Outdoors
Since all kinds of grills generate a massive amount of smoke when in use, it’s a requirement to take it outside to prevent health problems from smoke inhalation. However, the process of using the grill outside also allows you to experience the outdoors and all the health benefits that come from it, especially during the summer months.
While it’s usually rather hot outside during the sunny summer months, the Sun itself is often one of the best ways to get vitamin D. The vitamin is used by the body to improve the rates at which calcium, phosphate and magnesium are absorbed, all of which are needed to improve bone and muscle health and growth. While growth isn’t as important to adults, spending an hour or more in the Sun barbecuing your dinner can improve how you can heal and has even been known to improve some people’s moods!
You Eat Less Fat And Butter
Grilling is also one of the better ways to improve your health. Often, as a way to make some dishes taste better, recipes say to add a tablespoon or so of butter while cooking. In other cases, something as simple as frying a burger or a steak on a pan ends up with the excess fats getting reabsorbed into the meat you’re cooking. Grilling doesn’t need any extra butter or fat to taste great, and often reduces the amount you actually do eat.
Thanks to how the barbecue’s grates are made, any fats and excess juices melt, drip off, and burn away. While you might think that it makes the meat taste worse, the truth is the opposite. Some of the juices remain inside the meat, sealed in by the grilling process. Combined with the smokiness created from your barbecue and the seasonings you use for flavouring, the meat you cook ends up being quite delicious.
Many Grilled Foods Have Fewer Calories
To make it even better, the lowered amount of butter, fats and even sodium in the meat and veggies you grill often also means that the food has fewer calories than if you cooked it in another way. Some of the main reasons foods have higher calories is the food’s butter, oil and fat content that make them much harder for your body to process. Since the grilling process has those fats drip away and burn, what’s left is the proteins and fibers that your body needs and can use better. Some foods might still have a high calorie count, but it’s often lower than if you cooked it on a pan instead.
Takeaway
Grilling is, more often than not, one of the best ways to cook a meal. In addition to being a great and delicious way to cook, it’s also quite healthy. This fact can often be hidden under sources that say grilling will give you cancer, but if done correctly and without any excess charring, it can provide far more health benefits than expected. Combined with the smoky flavour the food gains, kids and adults alike are far more likely to enjoy a good grilled meal.
