Start Marinating Your Steak In BEER, Because Science Says It Fights Cancer [Study]

There aren’t many combos that top beer, beef, and barbecues. Any grill maestro and summertime pro already knows that. But as it turns out, the marriage of all 3 — together — might dramatically boost your health.

New research found that marinating meat in beer pre-grilling cut the formation of carcinogens by as much as 53%.¹²

Researchers from Portugal bought a bunch of pork and beer, likely had an epic party (just assuming), and soaked half of the meat for 4 hours in 1-of-3 different beer marinades: a dark ale, regular pilsner, or non-alcoholic pilsner. They later charcoal-grilled the meat and tested it for the development of carcinogens — known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs — a by-product of grilling/smoking at uber-high temperatures. Results revealed that the dark ale slashed carcinogens by more than half, while the non-alc and regular pilsners cut levels by 25% and 13%, respectively.

Beer’s exact cancer-fighting mechanisms are still unclear, but it’s most likely due to the high antioxidant content in darker beers. Each beer bath showed significant radical-scavenging capability, which helped beef up (sorry) protection against free radicals — reckless atoms that cause pre-mature aging, heart disease, cancer, and everything in-between.

Fire up the grill and douse your favorite meat with a fresh Bud. Or make this Beer Can Chicken. And then crack one open for yourself. After all, you’re fighting cancer. AMIRIGHT!?

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Bryan DiSanto

Owner & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP

Bryan DiSanto is the Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, a culinary student at Le Cordon Bleu – Paris, an ACE-CPT & CSN, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness/nutrition nutjob.

He also contributes to Men's Health Magazine.

When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.

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References, Notes, Links

1. Viegas O, Yebra-Pimentel I, Martínez-Carballo E, Simal-Gandara J, Ferreira IM. Effect of beer marinades on formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in charcoal-grilled pork. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Mar 26;62(12):2638-43. doi: 10.1021/jf404966w. Epub 2014 Mar 18. [↩]
2. Scientific American — Beer Marinade Cuts Grilling Carcinogens [↩]