Add beer to your steak and live longer

As you fire up your grill this Labor Day week, consider marinating your steak in beer and not only have a juicier steak, but you also will cut your risk of cancer. Yes, it's true, according to research conducted at the University of Porto in the country of Portugal.

They found marinating steak for six hours in beer or even red wine prior to frying or grilling reduced levels of two types of heterocyclic amines (HA) by up to 90 percent. Beer was most effective, however, further reducing rates of a third type of HA after just four hours of marinating.

As you may know, cooking food increases levels of cancer-causing HAs. When it comes to fried or grilled meat, high temperatures convert sugars and amino acids found in muscle into HAs. Foods like olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic cut HAs in grilled chicken by 90 percent, while red wine reduces HAs in fried chicken. Thanks to research by the team in Portugal, you can add beer and red wine to the list of cancer fighters for steak. Beer was more effective than red wine on the third HA because it has more water-retaining sugars than wine which may reduce the transport of water-soluble molecules to the steak's surface where heat converts them into HAs, reports the Portuguese research team.

As if you needed any more convincing, two trained sensory panels pointed to beer-marinated beef as having the best smell, taste, and appearance.