Processed Meats
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What Are
Processed Meats?
Foods containing nitrites/nitrates or other preservatives and additives.
Read your ingredient labels and look for “nitrite” or Sodium
Phosphate, Sodium Erythorbate, and/or Sodium Nitrate. These ingredients
are commonly found in pork products [ham, bacon, sausages], bologna, wieners,
or any luncheon meat [beef, chicken, pork, turkey] containing additives
or preservatives. Other sources are non-fat dried milk and smoked fish.
Why Are These Products
Considered To Be Harmful?
We are told that sodium nitrate is added to processed meats to protect
consumers from botulism as well as to enhance a product’s taste
and color. While nitrates themselves are harmless, they are readily converted
to nitrites. When these nitrites combine with compounds called secondary
amines, they form nitrosamines, extremely powerful cancer-causing chemicals.
Nitrosamines lock into the DNA and form mutagens, promoting the development
of cancer. Nitrosamines have been found to cause different types of cancer
in animals, and since nitrosamines are metabolized the same in human and
animal tissue, it is logical to assume that nitrosamine consumption carries
the same risks for humans. Nitrites have long been suspected as being
a cause of colon and stomach cancer in adults, and they have also been
linked with leukemia and ADD/ADHD in children. Between 1980 and 1987,
a study was performed on the relationship between the consumption of certain
foods and the risk of leukemia in Los Angeles children ages 10 and under.
Results indicated that children that ate an excess of 12 hot dogs per
month had nine times the normal risk of developing childhood leukemia.
Similarly, it found that children whose fathers consumed 12 or more hot
dogs per month were also at strong risk for childhood leukemia. Another
study performed in Denver found that children whose mothers consumed one
or more hot dogs per week during pregnancy had twice the normal risk of
developing brain tumors and that children who consumed one or more hot
dogs per week were also at higher risk of brain cancer.
- The Linus Pauling Institute, Nitrosamine and Cancer, November 2000
- International Confederation of Dietetics Association, Stomach Cancer
and Nutrition, 2003, Vol. 10 Issue 2
- Peters J, et al " Processed meats and risk of childhood leukemia
(California, USA)" Cancer Causes & Control 5: 195-202, 1994.
- Sarasua S, Savitz D. " Cured and broiled meat consumption in relation
to childhood cancer: Denver, Colorado (United States)," Cancer Causes
& Control 5:141-8, 1994.
- Bunin GR, et al. "Maternal diet and risk of astrocytic glioma in
children: a report from the children's cancer group (United States and
Canada)," Cancer Causes & Control 5:177-87, 1994.
Colon Cancer
Many risk factors contribute to the chance that one will develop colon
cancer, the third most common cancer among men and women. However, researchers
have concluded that a high intake of processed meat, defined as two or
more ounces a day for women and three or more ounces a day for men, may
be a major contributor. In a recent study, over 1,500 patients suffering
from precancerous polyps of the colon (colorectal adenomas) were given
a survey on their diet. They were examined again several years later to
see if their polyps had returned. It was discovered that the patients
who consumed diets higher in processed meats experienced a greater risk
of the recurring polyps and that the patients with diets high in certain
meats, like chicken, were less prone to recurrence.
- Science Daily, Eating Chicken May Reduce Your Risk of Colon Cancer,
December 21, 2005
In another study, nearly 150,000 adults ages 50 to 74 were asked to provide
information regarding their meat intake in 1982, and again in 1992 or
1993. Results indicated that long-term consumption of high amounts of
processed meats, such as hot dogs, increased the risk of colon cancer
by nearly 50 percent. Further, researchers found that the more processed
meats the people consumed, the greater their risk of developing diabetes.
Just to give an idea of how big of an impact the consumption of processed
meat has on one’s health, it was determined that an additional daily
serving of processed meat raised the risk by 40 percent!!
- Journal of the American Medical Association, Processed Meats Play Role
in Developing Colon Cancer, January 12, 2005;293(2):172-182
- Archives of Alternative Medicine, Processed Foods, Meats Greatly Increase
Diabetes Risk, Vol. 164 No. 20, November 8, 2004
How Are Nitrosamines Formed?
The chemical reaction in which dangerous nitrosamines are formed most
readily occurs at the high temperatures (exceeding 180 degrees Celsius)
of frying, barbecuing, and grilling. The longer the meat is cooked, the
greater the formation of nitrosamines.
Here’s a little hint…can’t give up grilling? Add a dark
green side salad, or a desert of berries and cherries. These foods have
components in them that help to neutralize nitrosamines.
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/f-w00/nitrosamine.html
The Beef
One would think that after being educated on the health risks caused by
the consumption of processed meats these products would no longer be considered
safe, but based on available evidence to date, nitrite as used in meat
and meat products is considered safe “because known benefits outweigh
potential risks”. We want to know, according to whom? We do not
feel that this logic is grounds for companies to continue to sell these
products. Some manufacturers have asked themselves this very question
and are finding alternative ways to protect the consumer from botulism
and the like without the use of harmful nitrites. The reality is that
we are not making sound decisions based on nutritional facts, and it is
fact that processed meats are not safe.
- American Meat Institute, AMI Fact Sheet, November 2003
- Dietz & Watson, Nitrates and Nitrites, Vol. 5, December 2005
Some Recommended Alternatives
Poor choices include anything similar to popular commercial brand lunch
meat, which contains the following ingredients: Mechanically Separated
Turkey, Pork, Water, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Flavor, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium
Erythorbate, and Sodium Nitrate. Look for nitrite-free lunchmeats at some
health food and grocery stores. Other ideas for lunchmeat are to boil,
slow cook, or use a pressure cooker to cook a whole chicken and use the
meat throughout the week for sandwiches, chicken salad, etc.
Don’t Guess About Your
Health… Schedule a Nutritional Consultation Today!
To make an appointment for a nutritional consultation, please call 919-556-1033.
Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following:
1. The information provided in this article is for educational purposes
only.
2. Your individual health status and any required health care treatments
can only be properly addressed by a professional healthcare provider of
your choice. Remember: There is no adequate substitution for a personal
consultation with your chosen health care provider. Therefore, we encourage
you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and
in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
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