We all know that ultraprocessed foods—fast food and junk food—are bad for your health. Processed meats appear little better. The New York Times reports on why you should avoid eating processed meats.
Processed meats include bacon, ham, deli meats, pepperoni and sauces that include these meats. Eating a lot of processed meats can lead to colorectal cancer, diabetes, dementia, heart disease and other serious health conditions.
One large 2021 study performed in Britain, for instance, concluded that for every additional 25 grams (or about one ounce) of processed meat in a person’s daily diet, the risk of dementia increased by 44 percent, and that of Alzheimer’s disease increased by 52 percent.
So, eat as little processed meats as possible And, while you’re at it, limit your consumption of red meat, including pork, to no more than 18 ounces a week. Red meat is also tied to cancer, heart disease, stroke, and greater likelihood of death.
The World Health Organization says red meat is likely carcinogenic. As far as experts are concerned, red meat and processed meat are bad no matter what type. In theory, processed fish and chicken should be better for your health, but there’s no data to support that theory.
The way meats are processed is at the heart of the health risk. The nitrates and nitrites can create chemicals in food that are cancer-causing. High heat also can cause meat to be carcinogenic.
One expert explains that processed meat can change your gut’s microbiome, causing chronic inflammation. In turn, your blood pressure can rise along with your risk of death. To stay healthy, you want most of the food you eat to come directly from plants.
In case you are wondering about the toxicity of natural nitrites, like celery juice, no one knows whether they are healthier.
Here’s more from Just Care:
Leave a Reply