With the temperatures rising in the Northern Hemisphere and more sunshine to light our late afternoons, you may be tempted on a whim to pull out your grill and cook some meat or veggies, preferably of the organic kind. Cooking safely on a grill is the essence of the problem in this latest study that found consuming barbecued meat can elevate a man's risk of prostate cancer.

Researchers found a new compound, PhIP, that forms on meat when it's cooked at high temperatures jump-started and promoted the growth of prostate cancer in rats. Additionally, genetic mutations were found in various organs, including prostates, spleens and intestines.

Because cooking conditions vary from place to place, it's nearly impossible to detect how much PhIP a patient may have consumed.

That's why it's so very important to prepare foods properly. In fact, PhIP might be the newest addition to the list of heterocyclic amines, potent cancer-causing substances that form on foods when cooked at high temperatures while grilling or barbecuing. Two ways you can safely cook foods on a grill:

• Add cherries, blueberries or vitamin E to your ground meat.
• Cook you foods at around 200 degrees, meaning very low heat.

Yahoo News April 3, 2006