BOSTON -- If you plan on firing up the grill this holiday weekend, beware of the dangers of food cooked over an open flame.

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NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported that the sizzling steak may be cooking up cancer-causing chemicals, but there are some simple precautions that can minimize the risk.

"They're called heterocyclic amines, and those can be formed from burning any kind of muscle -- specifically protein-meat chicken that's burned," said Dana Farber Cancer Center nutritionist Stacy Kennedy.

Kennedy said you can avoid these dangerous chemicals by not grilling over intense heat that can char the meat. And while a sizzling grill sounds good, the smoke is creating other potentially cancer-causing chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

"Those can be formed when the fatty juice from the meats drips down and the smoke rises and infiltrates the meat," said Kennedy.

Dana Farber experts recommend you flip the meat often -- as much as once a minute -- and keep it at least 6 inches away from the flame. Also, trim the fat wherever possible and choose lean cuts of meat.

"I think for summer grilling, it's great to go with a nice pork tenderloin or a pork chop, certainly all sorts of seafood that you could grill. If you're looking for ground meat, you could go for ground turkey and make turkey burgers. Or you could opt for a 90 percent lean ground beef," said Stan Frankenthaler, of Whole Foods Markets.

When it comes to marinades, thinner is better than thick.

"The thicker bottled marinades do tend to have more sugar, and the sugar can burn more quickly than an acid like a lemon or a vinegar," said Kennedy.

"Some very simple quick marinades would be lemon juice, a little chopped garlic, some fresh herbs and maybe just a couple of teaspoons of oil," said Frankenthaler.

Experts recommend grilling some vegetables along with the meat. Vegetables do not contain the same type of protein found in meat and as a result don't create those cancer causing agents when charred. Plus, they contain many nutrients that experts say can help fight cancer.