The Health Risks of Eating Processed Meats
A Y 2007 analysis by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) found that eating just one sausage a day can significantly raise your risk of bowel cancer. Specifically, 1.8 ozs of processed meat daily, about 1 sausage or 3 pieces of bacon raises the likelihood of the cancer by 20%.
Other studies have also found that processed meats increase your risk of colon, bladder, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR): “Research suggests that regularly eating even small amounts of cold cuts, bacon, sausage, and hot dogs increase colorectal cancer risk, which is why AICR recommends avoiding these foods, except for special occasions…
The risk continues to rise as processed meat consumption increases. Studies show that compared to eating no processed meat, eating 3.5 ozs every day, a large hot dog increases colorectal cancer risk by 36%.”
Research from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) also revealed that eating processed meats increased the risk of heart disease by 42% and the risk of type 2 diabetes by 19%. Such links were not found among those eating unprocessed red meat.
The increased risks came from relatively low amounts of processed meat, such as 1 to 2 slices of deli meats or 1 hot dog daily. A large study of nearly 450,000 people further revealed that those who ate the most processed meats increased their risk of dying early by 44%.
Premature deaths could be slashed by 3 percent simply by people eating less processed meats, according to the researchers, who recommended limiting such meats to less than one ounce a day.
They noted: “Significant associations with processed meat intake were observed for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and ‘other causes of death.’”
Many are confused about nitrates and nitrites, so let me clear up the confusion. Nitrates are present in many vegetables, such as beets, celery, lettuce, spinach, and most other leafy green vegetables. When you eat nitrates, your body converts a small percentage of them into nitrites.
Nitrites and nitrates are not inherently bad for you, in fact, they are the precursor to nitric oxide (NO), which lowers your blood pressure and exerts mild anti-inflammatory effects.
Sodium nitrite is a synthetic preservative added to meats like hot dogs to help them maintain that nice pink color. The problem is, in the presence of heat — especially high heat; nitrites can combine with amines in processed meat to form nitrosamines, and it’s these that are carcinogenic.
Processed meats are far more prone to nitrosamine formation than vegetables, due to being higher in amines and intensively heat processed.6 As mentioned, vitamin C inhibits some of the nitrosamine formation. Vegetables contain more vitamin C, beta-carotene, and other antioxidants, which is another reason why the nitrates in vegetables don’t cause a problem.
According to the University of Minnesota Extension, around 90 percent of the nitrite in your body comes from vegetables, while just 10 percent comes from processed meats.
Natural or Organic hot dogs advertised as nitrate-free may not be much lower in nitrite, and some may even be higher than conventional hot dogs.
Companies that label their products Natural or Organic must use natural sources of the preservatives, which usually come in the form of celery powder, celery salt, or celery juice, as celery is naturally high in nitrate, plus a starter culture of bacteria. This transforms the nitrate found naturally in the celery salt into nitrite, which cures the meat.
A Y 2011 study published in The Journal of Food Protection found that natural hot dogs had anywhere from one-half to 10 times the amount of nitrite of conventional hot dogs.
A similar scenario exists for bacon.
So, buying organic nitrate-free hot dogs is not necessarily going to reduce your nitrate exposure, although it will likely result in a higher quality food product in many other respects.
While processed meats are better off avoided, organic, pastured meats can be a healthy part of your diet. Some of the benefits of grass-fed and grass-finished beef, for instance, include higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and other healthy fats. It also has a more balanced ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.
Modern food, in which processed foods and vegetable oils dominate, has led to a dramatic increase in omega-6 over omega-3. Compared to a 100 yrs ago, we now have 100,000X higher intake of omega-6, which does not bode well from a health perspective. Substituting processed vegetable oils with healthy animal fat is a good approach that will help optimize your health.
It is important to recognize that while the USDA 100% Organic label is good, it is not necessarily a guarantee that the meat has been grass-fed and finished. In fact, the Organic label is costly for ranchers, and many actually raise their cattle in ways that provide superior beef compared to beef bearing the Organic label. A truly grass-fed, grass-finished product is superior to Organic.
Unless labeled as 100% grass-fed, virtually all the meat you buy in the grocery store is CAFO beef, and tests have revealed that nearly 50% of the meat sold in US stores is contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains.
Grass-fed beef is not associated with this high frequency of contamination, and their living conditions have everything to do with this improved safety. This doesn’t only apply to beef, of course. It also applies to poultry, which should be Organic and pasture-raised or free-range certified, as well as fish, which should be wild-caught, not farm-raised.
Currently, meat in supermarkets will be labeled 100% grass-fed if it came from pasture, but if it contains no label it’s probably CAFO-raised. An alliance of Organic and Hatural health consumers, animal welfare advocates, and anti-GMO activists are working together to tackle the next big food labeling battle: meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals raised on factory farms, or CAFOs.
This campaign, which aims to have CAFO foods labeled, includes a massive program to educate consumers about the negative impacts of factory farming on the environment, on human health, and on animal welfare, and hopes to organize and mobilize millions of consumers to demand labels on beef, pork, poultry, and dairy products derived from these unhealthy and unsustainable so-called “farming” practices.
You can boycott food products from CAFOs and choose to support farmers who produce healthy pastured grass-fed meat, eggs, and dairy products using humane, environmentally friendly methods.
You can do this not only by visiting the farm directly, if you have one nearby, but also by taking part in farmer’s markets and community-supported agriculture programs, many of which offer grass-fed meats.
Eat healthy, Be healthy, Live lively.
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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