Processed meats also contain added sodium in quantities far exceeding your body's requirements. Once consumed, nitrates can be broken down into compounds called nitrosamines, a carcinogen that's linked to various forms of cancer. Some examples of processed meat include hot dogs, pepperoni, sausage, deli meat, beef jerky, salami, and bacon.Īs you might imagine, the ingredients added to processed meat come with their own health risks.įor example, a common preservative added to processed meat is nitrates. While unprocessed meat has one ingredient meat, processed meat has a multitude of added preservatives, fillers, colorants, and so on. One of the biggest concerns around red meat consumption is not simply that people are consuming too much, but that they are consuming too much processed meat. The problem is that our modern food supply is highly processed, and the quality of meat available today is a far cry from what humans fed on for most of our evolution. In fact, it's fair to say that if your ancient ancestors hadn't found ways to hunt large game, you likely wouldn't be here today. Whether or not humans have historically consumed red meat is not in question. What's The Difference Between Processed and Unprocessed Meat?īefore we jump into the study, let's first review a very important distinction – the difference between processed and unprocessed meat. In this article, we'll review their research strategies and highlight their key findings. In a recent burden of proof study, investigators sought to determine if unprocessed red meat is, in fact, a food that should be avoided or limited in the human diet. So, where's all the confusion coming from? If you look at the research, you can find documentation of both the benefits and detriments of red meat, which means that the answer to whether red meat is healthy is not so black and white.įurthermore, many of the meta-analyses that look at the properties of red meat have fallen short in reviewing the strength of evidence and also don't take into account the impact of processed versus unprocessed red meat. On the other hand, red meat consumption has been a vital aspect of human evolution and survival for as long as we can tell. On the one hand, we've heard for years that red meat consumption can contribute to health concerns like heart disease and diabetes and may increase the risk of certain types of cancer. There's a lot of confusion out there about the impact that red meat has on overall health.
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