Processed meat 'early death' link

Sausages, ham, bacon and other processed meats appear to increase the risk of dying young, a study of half a million people across Europe suggests.

It concluded diets high in processed meats were linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer and early deaths.

The researchers, writing in the journal BMC Medicine, said salt and chemicals used to preserve the meat may damage health.

The British Heart Foundation suggested opting for leaner cuts of meat.

The study followed people from 10 European countries for nearly 13 years on average.

Lifestyle factors

It showed people who ate a lot of processed meat were also more likely to smoke, be obese and have other behaviours known to damage health.

However, the researchers said even after those risk factors were accounted for, processed meat still damaged health.

One in every 17 people followed in the study died. However, those eating more than 160g of processed meat a day - roughly two sausages and a slice of bacon - were 44% more likely to die over a typical follow-up time of 12.7 years than those eating about 20g.

In total, nearly 10,000 people died from cancer and 5,500 from heart problems.



Prof Sabine Rohrmann, from the University of Zurich, told the BBC: "High meat consumption, especially processed meat, is associated with a less healthy lifestyle.

"But after adjusting for smoking, obesity and other confounders we think there is a risk of eating processed meat.

"Stopping smoking is more important than cutting meat, but I would recommend people reduce their meat intake."

Health benefits

She said if everyone in the study consumed no more than 20g of processed meat a day then 3% of the premature deaths could have been prevented.

The UK government recommends eating no more than 70g of red or processed meat - two slices of bacon - a day.

A spokesperson said: "People who eat a lot of red and processed meat should consider cutting down."

However a little bit of meat, even processed meat, had health benefits in the study.

Ursula Arens from the British Dietetic Association told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that putting fresh meat through a mincer did not make it processed meat.

"Something has been done to it to extend its shelf life, or to change its taste, or to make it more palatable in some way... and this could be a traditional process like curing or salting."

She said even good quality ham or sausages were still classed as processed meat, while homemade burgers using fresh meat were not.

"For most people there's no need to cut back on fresh, red meat. For people who have very high intake of red meat - eat lots of red meat every day - there is the recommendation that they should moderate their intake," she added.

Ms Arens also confirmed that the study's finding that processed meat was linked to heart disease was new.

Mr Roger Leicester, a consultant surgeon and a member of the Meat Advisory Panel, said: "I would agree people should eat small quantities of processed meat."

However, he said there needed to be a focus on how meat was processed: "We need to know what the preservatives are, what the salt content is, what the meat content is...meat is actually an essential part of our diet."

Growing evidence

Dr Rachel Thompson, from the World Cancer Research Fund, said: "This research adds to the body of scientific evidence highlighting the health risks of eating processed meat.

"Our research, published in 2007 and subsequently confirmed in 2011, shows strong evidence that eating processed meat, such as bacon, ham, hot dogs, salami and some sausages, increases the risk of getting bowel cancer."

The organisation said there would be 4,000 fewer cases of bowel cancer if people had less than 10g a day.

"This is why World Cancer Research Fund recommends people avoid processed meat," said Dr Thompson.

Tracy Parker, a heart health dietitian with the British Heart Foundation, said the research suggested processed meat might be linked to an increased risk of early death, but those who ate more of it in the study also made "other unhealthy lifestyle choices".

"They were found to eat less fruit and vegetables and were more likely to smoke, which may have had an impact on results.

"Red meat can still be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet.

"Opting for leaner cuts and using healthier cooking methods such as grilling will help to keep your heart healthy.

"If you eat lots of processed meat, try to vary your diet with other protein choices such as chicken, fish, beans or lentils."

Source:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21682779

As previously discussed on the other channel, best to err on the side of moderation. This recent round of exposure seems to also recommend set limits.

The whole 9 yards of this article seems to make a lot of sense.

Well yes, this report doesn't bring anything new to the table (excuse the pun) but what it does do is to strengthen what was known before simply due to the huge size of the number of those participating.

Personally I really enjoy a bacon butty. But I don't have one every day or even every week. Hmmm sausages and mash with onion gravy is very tasty, but I doubt I eat that even once a month.
Now, I do like ham and especially salami. I like cheese too. These I do consume at least once a week.

I certainly don't imagine that reports like this will make a change to my lifestyle. Some could argue that it should, but...........

And I love a bacon butty too! But I wont eat them every day. Though I used to when I was working in Denmark. Can you imagine hot freshly baked rolls filled with Danish bacon every morning! :wow:

From my point of view this kind of article makes no difference to me as I have been aware of this sort of thing for a long while now and have adjusted my life style in the direction that the article suggests.

One of the issues with processed meats is the additives, including salt.

Yes, I do agree and that's one thing that often confuses me.
Many of the 'processes' used are actually what could be termed 'traditional' methods of preserving foods. Different countries have different methods.

So would 'processed meats' just include those preserved with salt and/or chemical additives? or does the term include all methods?

The horse meat debacle has taught us that we just don't know quite what goes into our processed foods. There are ingredients that we do know of, of course, that we know aren't good for us. And god knows what else goes in there. That's the reason why they tell us to make our own burgers etc.

Also, it strikes me that the fact that most people like salty food seems to give the processed food trade and fast food retailers the cue to stuff salt into everything. Doesn't that include many of the processed foods like bacon and chorizo etc etc?

I moved house recently and went to our most local chinese takeaway and stone me, they appear to have done the same thing i.e. stuffed heaps of salt in their recipes. Wont be going back there again.

I first came across this crowd at my local GP surgery. CASH.

http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/

We've both found that nearly all take-aways, but especially Chinese, are very salty.
We never really add any salt to our cooking so anything that has quite a bit of salt is very easy for us to spot.
Even bread.

We tend to use quite a bit of Ajinomoto and Umami either during cooking or after.

Same here.

And whereas when I was in my teens and twenties I used to simply sprinkle the salt on everything, I am these days quite the opposite.

Try Umami dust. Available in Waitrose anyway (No salt no sugar)

What on earth is that, Peter? Is it Japanese or something?

To be honest, I don't add any salt. And I am a great believer in using ingredients that don't require further flavour enhancing with salt. It is possible to cook and find foods that taste great without adding salt. My ex wife was very good at that.

I go for low fat, low sugar and low salt. But I don't rule out fatty, salty or sweet foods, just keep them to a level of moderation. I also avoid fried food most of the time.

when we lived in Japan we really did learn a lot about the diet there. How to create variations on a theme and how to minimise those 'bad bits' and optimise those 'good bits'

The Japanese diet is often held up to be the most healthy.

Personally, I think the typical Filipino diet is one of the least healthy. But at least huge improvements can be made by substituting salt with Ajinomoto or by using
Umami Dust.

Lots of Asian countries use Soy Sauce and or Fish sauce to get a salty experience.

Umami is a bit like that.
Just looking at the pot of Umami I have now the ingredients are:-

Tomato
Garlic
Lemon Peels
Anchovy
Spices
Mushroom

The Nutrition Facts state:-

Calories = 0%
Iron = 0%
Protein = 0%
Fat = 0%
Trans Fat = 0%
Sugars = 0%
Total Carbohydrate = 0%
Sodium = 1%

% of daily recommended values.

Why not give it try?
Next time you visit Waitrose. Just a couple a quid for 64g tub

It took me some time but I eventually managed to ween my wife from fruit and salt to fruit and Umami

Success indeed.

Getting my wife to move away from fried and fatty and salty foods ain't going to be easy. A definite challenge for me there....

I guess I will have to try this Umami dust. Of course ingredients such as herbs, garlic, lemons and limes, onions and tomatoes are all ways of adding flavour naturally, without resorting to salt. I am a great fan of coriander.

Whats the opinion on Magic Sarap? My wife tends to use it. We can buy it locally here in the IOM.

Just had an interesting conversation with my wife. She told me that at university the HRM dudes advised against Ajinomoto and also her mothers employers ( who her mom cooks for ) are dead against it. Said to be worse than salt. Apparently "Betsin" has been used as a means of spiking young women's drinks!

Mind you, who would have thought that nutmeg could give someone an hallucinogenic high....

Other ingredients that give food great flavour include ginger. Just had some tonight in our Tinola. Which reminds me that I prefer it with fillet chicken and no bones but my wife prefers the bones in with it!