The latest health scare: even if you do everything else right, barbecuing your food can make you sick. Barbecue, recent research has found, can create carcinogens in high enough quantities to make a real impact on your health.

Now being from the South, I have no intention of giving up my barbecue. It's just not going to happen. So for me, and for all you other folks who love barbecue, here are some tips for keeping your barbecue as safe and healthy as possible.

1. Keep it in moderation. Anything taken to excess is likely to be bad for you, and barbeque is no exception. If you don't barbecue more than once a week, you'll minimize the impact of your tasty meats and vegetables on your health.

2. Don't cook it too hot. I know, I know, the only proper way to barbecue is to roast the meat at the highest possible temperature. Here's the problem: the hotter your temperature and longer the exposure, the more likely carcinogens will be formed in your meats. The good news is that meat is better if it's only seared or slow-cooked at a lower temperature. So learn to cook your barbeque better for the healthiest results.

3. Coat your meat with BBQ sauce before grilling, instead of afterward. When smoke hits bare meat, the proteins are transformed into benzopyrenes, which are carcinogens. If your meat is well coated with sauce before you grill, that will protect the outer layer of meat from that change in character. You can also keep a spray bottle filled with water handy to put out any flareups, or keep your meats on heavy-duty aluminum foil instead of the bare grill rack.

Putting it into perspective, however, the smoke from your grill or cigarettes and not using sunscreen are both more likely to cause cancer to avid cookout chefs than charred meat. Don't stress too much if you don't get that side strip on your chicken breasts thoroughly coated.

4. Choose less fatty cuts of meat. Carcinogens aren't just found in barbecued meats; they are also found naturally in all meat, and fat is the worst part for storing them. Skin your chicken, and consider trying some juicy portabella mushrooms as an experimental substitute.