Health Risks and Processed Meat
WHO attributes about 34,000 cancer deaths each year to diets
high in eating processed meats. For red
meat, they attribute 50,000 deaths a year.
But as Time points out, tobacco-related cancer is linked to 1 million
deaths a year. How much raises your
risk, about 50 grams of processed meat a day.
Especially of concern are processed meats containing sodium nitrates as
a preservative. These change to
nitrosamines in our body, which are carcinogenic. Interesting, vitamin C inhibits nitrosamine
production. So maybe eating our morning
bacon with a glass of orange juice would cancel some of the harmful effects of
nitrates in the bacon.
How much is 50 grams of processed meat? WHO noted that 50 grams of processed meat A
DAY raises the risk of colon cancer by 18%.
So how much is 50 grams of processed meat? Time lists this out as:
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 hot dog
- 1 slices ham
- 5 slices hard salami
- 2 slices Canadian bacon
What are Processed Meats?
Many people eat “meat” and don’t think whether it is processed or
not. How does WHO define processed
meats? Meat that is smoked, salted,
cured, or changed by processing to make it taste better or last longer.
- Hot Dogs
- Packaged Turkey
- Sausages
- Corned Beef
- Beef Jerky
- Canned Meat
- Chicken Nuggets
- Bologna
Well, that just about covers it for many people’s
lunches. Switching to a cheese or peanut
butter sandwich seems to be a healthier alternative than a processed meat
sandwich. Or don’t have the processed
meat for lunch every day of the week to lower your risk.
For me, I will still enjoy my bacon, lettuce and tomato
sandwich and my hot dog on a whole wheat bun.
But I don’t eat these every day.
Maybe adding some vitamin C rich food to these meals will help negate
the health risks of eating processed meats. Source: The War on Delicious, Image Source: Time Cover
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