
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 5, 1994                   TAG: 9401050131
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Landmark News Service
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TECH STUDY: GRILLED MEAT NOT BAD FOR YOU

Toss that T-bone back on the broiler because it looks like eating a little grilled meat is safe after all.

A study by Virginia Tech and the American Health Foundation shows that a suspected carcinogen created when meat is grilled, broiled, browned or otherwise charred may not put people at higher risk for colon cancer as previously thought.

The research, published Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is good news to untold legions of meat eaters who have been steaming and poaching their way to peace of mind.

It was especially welcomed by Jim Blacketer, owner of the Grate Steak, the Norfolk and Hampton grill-your-own steakhouses that serve up to four tons of beef each week to hungry patrons.

"To me it kind of separates fact from hysteria," Blacketer said. "This study just emphasizes that moderation and balance is the key."

In previous studies, researchers discovered that when meat is browned, the heat converts amino acids found in muscle to chemicals called heterocyclic aromatic amines. When processed by the liver, these HCAs are converted again into compounds that can cause colon cancer in rats and liver cancer in mice.

The implication was that eating excessive amounts of grilled meat could lead to an increase in colon cancer.

But the new findings by Tech and the American Health Foundation show the HCAs failed to induce colon cancer in rats and mice. The reason: While the converted HCA did cause gene mutations, it did not affect the body's ability to repair the damage.

To be classified as a likely carcinogen, a chemical must do both.

Grilled meats, particularly beef, still have mutagens in them, said Tracy Wilkins, director of the Biotechnology Center at Virginia Tech, but at least they are not made into super mutagens by the processes discovered.

Wilkins said the findings simply underscore the evolving nature of research.

"There are mutagens and carcinogens in everything," he said. "People just need to come around and understand the relative risk."

Researchers still warn against eating too much meat, advice that even the Grate Steak's Blacketer supports.

"If you ate at the Grate Steak or at McDonald's seven days a week, your diet would not be right," he said.

by CNB