Summertime is something we look forward to all year round, and for a good reason! The weather is warm and the sun is shining, which means lots of natural vitamin D, and it's easy to want to spend all of your time outdoors. For many of us, grilling is a favorite American pastime. 

While we encourage you to soak up the sweet summertime, it's also important to remember that grilling meats can lead to the production of carcinogenic (potentially cancer-causing) chemicals that are harmful to your body. That's right, those perfect grill marks you look for on your chicken are actually doing more harm than good. 

The good news is that it's easy to reduce your exposure to these harmful compounds, making your summer grilling season healthier, yet still tasty, for you and your family. Here are some simple tips to enjoying a healthy grilling season.

 

1. Limit the amount of meat on your grill. Make grilled vegetables or even wild Alaskan salmon the main course.

2. Bake some food, too. If your meats are on the grill, toss your vegetables in the oven rather than grilling them, too. Even better, steam them!

3. Cook it just enough. While you don't want to risk eating meat that's uncooked, you don't want to overcook it, either. Avoid charring or blackening your meat and try to avoid parts of the meat that have grill marks.

4. Marinate, marinate, marinate. By soaking your meats in a marinade, you may be able to reduce the amount of cancer-causing agents that soak into them. Use spices such as ginger, rosemary and turmeric to spice up your grill and add a little olive oil and lemon juice, too, for flavor.

5. Avoid lighter fluid. Spraying lighter fluid onto your grill leaves a residue of toxic chemicals behind on the grill and, eventually, on your food. Gas grills are a good alternative to avoid using lighter fluid.

Here's to a happy, healthy summer!