Enjoy Your Steak Medium-Rare

By Al Sears, MD

Do you like your steak red in the middle? I do. Conventional wisdom says that’s “dangerous,” so let me put your mind at ease. The idea that it’s “healthier” to cook meat until it’s dry and tasteless is not based on scientific fact. Overcooking denatures protein, breaks down vitamins, and removes nutrients.

Many high-temperature cooking methods trigger a chemical change called glycation (the binding of glucose molecules to protein). Glycation is what happens to the proteins in your body as you age, and it’s the same process that turns a turkey’s skin brown and crispy when you cook it.

The result of glycation on meat is a spoiled protein assembly with glycotoxins. As the glycotoxins accumulate in your cells, they send out chemical signals. Your body responds by producing inflammation that can cause arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

You can reduce the number of glycotoxins in your food by cooking it more slowly at a lower heat - in other words, by steaming, stewing, boiling, and poaching instead of frying, broiling, and microwaving. Marinating meat well before you cook it will also lessen glycation.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor’s Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]