The Grilling Mistake That's Making You Sick

While skipping the beef burgers and grilling some veggie kabobs seems like a great idea for your waistline, BBQing your produce can actually wreak havoc on your health. We've uncovered the top reasons why you should reconsider tossing your veggies on a flaming-hot grill. Read on to find out what they are.

You're Charring Them To a Carcinogenic Crisp

It turns out that allowing your veggies to char on the grill for too long depletes their fat-frying nutrients and instead leaves them exposed to benzopyrene — a carcinogenic chemical present in cigarette smoke!6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

You're Dousing Them In Inflammatory Oil

As if that's not scary enough, brushing your veggies with oil before tossing them onto the barbie also kills off their nutrients. In fact, Mount Sinai Medical researchers discovered that foods cooked at high temperatures pack in high levels of dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs), or glycotoxins, which cause inflammation — a precursor to weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease. Because high fat and protein-packed meats are more prone to developing AGEs, adding oil to your vegetables before grilling can up their levels of AGEs, according to a 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Eat This! Tip:

But, you don't have to give up your summer grill sessions just yet.

According to a study in the Journal of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, cooking at lower temperatures and allowing your dinner to grill for a shorter amount of time — and even dousing your veggies in acidic ingredients like vinegar and lemon juice! — can seriously reduce the number of AGEs to which you're exposed. Better yet, avoid making these grilling mistakes and sabotaging your waist-whittling vegetables and consider chomping on 'em raw to fully reap their inflammation-fighting benefits.

And instead of missing out on fat-soluble vitamins, drizzle your peppers and onions in extra virgin olive oil after roasting them.

And to guarantee you're scorching belly fat this summer, be sure to shop for these 30 Best Anti-Inflammatory Foods.