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Marg Shurtliff
June 7th, 2010, 09:14 PM
I received this info last Thursday evening at TOPS and just got around to typing it out and sharing it with my family E-mail today . Thought it might help some people here as well.

Healthy Up Your Burger with this Spice
Cooking meat at high temperatures - a la flame grilling - can create cancer-causing substances . But here's a spice that counters it : rosemary .
Yep , mixing some rosemary into your burgers may make them not only tastier but safer and healthier , too. In a study , adding rosemary extract to beef patties before grilling slashed the production of harmful high-heat compounds by up to 90 percent .
Spice it up !
The cancer -causing substances created by high-heat grilling are called heterocyclic amines (HCAs ) . They form when amino acids and creatine react together under high temps - and research suggests these compounds could up the risk of certain cancers , such as stomach cancer. In addition to adding rosemary to grilled meats , you can dial down the HCAs by cooking at lower temperatures and frequently turning meats on the grill.
Antioxidant Defense
How does rosemary extract beat back HCAs ? It's high in antioxidants that may neutralize precursor compounds before they can turn into HCAs. Not a rosemary fan ? Studies show that mixing ground meat with thyme , sage , or garlic , or even chopped apples , pineapple , or cherries may do the trick as well.
From : www.realage.com

Gina Stevenson
June 7th, 2010, 11:01 PM
Before I got to the end of your post, Marg, I was going to ask about garlic ... when we used to mix things up in the meat before cooking it, it included much garlic, too. Sure enough, we found garlic listed, too. ;) But I also do like rosemary, tho' it's normally something added more to poultry than beef. Instead of buying it ground, I've got it whole here, and a little marble mortar & pestle that I've had "forever." (had a big one before, but it was sooo heavy, traded it to someone else for their smaller one when yet out in Phoenix)