Researchers have revealed that cooking beef, chicken, or fish over an open-flame or in high heat by grilling, broiling, barbecuing, and roasting may increase an individual's risk of high blood pressure.

Silent Killer

High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the United States. It is often called the silent killer because it does not often have warning signs or symptoms.

Cooking Methods That Can Increase Risk Of Hypertension

Researchers said that people who consume red meat, fish, or chicken regularly may want to consider avoiding open-flame or high-temperature cooking methods to reduce hypertension risk.

In a new study presented at the American Heart Association meeting on Wednesday, March 21, study researcher Gang Liu, from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues involved more than 100,000 adults in the United States to study a potential link between cooking methods and odds for high blood pressure.

None of the participants had high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, or diabetes at the start of the study period. Over the next 12 to 16 years, however, more than 37,100 people developed high blood pressure.

Liu and colleagues found that those who broiled, grilled, or roasted meat more than 15 times monthly had 17 percent greater risk of developing high blood pressure compared with those who used high-temperature cooking less than four times per month.

The researchers also found that the risk for hypertension was 15 percent higher in those who wanted their meat well done compared with those who consumed rarer meats.

Dangers Of Charring And Cooking Meat At High Temperatures

American Heart Association spokesperson Linda Van Horn said that cooking to the point of charring the meat is the main problem with grilled steaks. The cooking process produces chemicals not normally present in the human body.

Liu said that laboratory studies suggest that these chemicals can set off inflammation within the body that can contribute to health problems, which include elevated blood pressure.

Chemicals produced by cooking at high temperatures can also cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance, which affect the inner lining of blood vessels and are linked with the development of atherosclerosis, the stiffening and hardening of the artery walls.

"The chemicals produced by cooking meats at high temperatures induce oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance in animal studies, and these pathways may also lead to an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure," said Liu said.