Processed meat more dangerous for health than unprocessed meat: study
Posted May 18, 2010 6:51 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – It seems it’s not only how much meat a person eats, but what kind of meat that matters, when it comes to staying healthy.
A study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that processed meats like hot dogs and sausage can increase a person’s risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes — by 42 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.
Researchers found that on average processed meats have four times more sodium and pack 50 per cent more preservatives like nitrates.
The study, published in the journal Circulation, found there isn’t that same threat from eating even twice as much unprocessed meat, such as beef, lamb or pork.
Food and nutrition specialist Rose Reisman says this doesn’t come as a surprise.
“Any food that rots quickly, meaning in a few days, is good to digest and ingest. Food that can sit for a long time in a package like these processed meats can, are not the ones we should put in our bodies,” Reisman said.
She said that when shopping, ask the person behind the deli counter if the meat has been processed.
The team from Harvard based this research on 20 studies, involving more than one-million people from 10 different countries.
