This year’s 315, a big brand of ham sausage has turned over again. Workers’ uniforms in the workshop are blackened, pork chops are directly bagged and stored, and disinfected at will… The chaos of food safety production is shocking.
In fact, aside from the production quality of the sausage itself, many authoritative medical studies recommend eating less processed meat products such as sausage, which may even have cancer risks.
First, hot knowledge: ham is a first-class carcinogen
ham is processed meat , The raw material is also livestock and poultry meat. The merchant will purchase some meat, put it in the mixer, and then shred all the meat. After all the meat slices are all battered, then a lot of starch and seasoning are added, and the materials used are relatively simple. Although the ham sausage that has not yet been formed is really unflattering, the taste is still good.
In 2015, the World Health Organization classified processed meat products including hot dogs, sausages, hams, cured meats, jerky, canned meat or meat sauces as >Class I carcinogens. And it is proposed that sufficient evidence processed meat can cause cancer in humans. Eating 50g of processed meat products every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by about 18%.
Let’s see what are the health risks of processed meat:
1. High salt
100 grams of ham sausage is about 2.5 grams, and a daily intake of 200 grams (about one) ham sausage can reach the recommended intake of salt for a day. However, the ham may have added sweetness to mask the salty taste. In addition, people who like to eat ham sausage have a heavy taste, so it makes people feel that it is not very salty.
2. High fat
The fresh flavor of ham is also related to its high fat. According to the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, the recommended daily amount of cooking oil is 25-30g, and the fat content in a piece of ham is higher than 10g. It can be seen that regular consumption will still bring about the risk of gaining weight.
3. Nitrite content
Some hams are very red in color, probably due to the addition of nitrite. This is a food additive. Excessive intake of nitrite may synthesize carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach and the protein breakdown products in the stomach. Adding nitrite to ham sausage generally plays a role in The role of color protection and anticorrosion. As long as it is used in accordance with the national standard, there will be no food safety problems. However, if the color is particularly red or the taste is particularly strong, there may be a risk of exceeding the standard.
Second, the question is, will eating ham sausages cause cancer?
Since ham sausage is a processed meat, and processed meat is a first-class carcinogen, there are health risks, so will eating it cause cancer?
In response, Meng Jin, Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College said that there is no causal relationship between eating processed meat products and developing cancer. Processed meat products contain carcinogens, which does not mean that eating this food will definitely cause cancer, depending on how you eat it.
Cancer is a multifactorial disease that is related to genetics, eating habits, work and rest habits, not just diet. For people who do not consume much processed meat, they can basically metabolize harmful substances through their body metabolism. They will not get cancer just because they eat occasionally. In the same way, long-term consumption of large amounts may increase the risk of illness.
So if you want to prevent cancer, you still need to develop healthy eating habits. While eating meat, eat a balanced diet with reasonable intake of carbohydrates, vitamins and dietary fiber, and control the intake of processed meat.
Third, what other foods have cancer risks?
In fact, in addition to ham sausages, there are many foods around you that can cause cancer if eaten in large quantities for a long time.
1. Chinese-style salted fish
Chinese-style salted fish is also a first-class carcinogen. During the production process, the organs in the fish maw are basically preserved. Chemical and light effects can produce a substance called “N-nitroso compounds”, and long-term consumption may increase the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer and other cancers.
2. Alcohol
Alcohol, a first-class carcinogen, is not carcinogenic by itself, but it will metabolize and convert into acetaldehyde in the human body , acetaldehyde can directly bind to DNA, resulting in DNA mutation and chromosomal mutation.
3. Betel nut
Betel nut has the greatest relationship with oral cancer and is listed as a first-class carcinogen. It has rough fibers and long-term consumption will damage the oral mucosa and Teeth; the alkaloids in betel nut also damage normal cells, leading to an inflammatory response.
4. Fried food
Food fried at high temperature will produce the first-level carcinogen benzopyrene, Long-term inhalation or consumption of foods high in benzopyrene may increase the risk of lung cancer, liver cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.
5. Moldy food
Moldy rice, soybeans, nuts and other foods will breed yellow Aspergillus, which produces the primary carcinogen aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is highly toxic to the liver and will deposit in liver cells, damage the liver and induce liver cancer.
4. How to keep cancer out of your mouth?
Scientific cancer prevention can be achieved not only by eating less risky foods that may cause cancer, but also by eating more foods with cancer protective factorsthing. A cancer expert who has been engaged in cancer prevention and treatment for 48 years, Professor Yuan Fenglan of the Cancer Prevention Department of the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, once put forward a “211” principle of dietary cancer prevention, which everyone can learn from.
1. 2 catties of vegetables per day
Research shows that if one can consume 400-800g of fresh fruits and Vegetables can reduce the incidence of lung cancer and stomach cancer by 50%. Vegetables have a protective effect on cancer, which may be related to the carotene, antioxidant nutrients, sulfur-containing compounds, chlorophyll and so on.
2. 1 catty of fruit per day
The World Health Organization introduced that too low vitamin C in the human body can easily increase the risk of cancer, and each person should consume it every day About a pound of fruit.
3. No more than 1 catty of meat per week
It is best to control the amount of meat within one catty for a week, and it is recommended to choose between breakfast and lunch Eat, try to eat less meat at night.
1 catty of fruits and 2 catties of vegetables may exceed the daily consumption of some people, but it should be emphasized that the above values are for reference only. Generally speaking, it is actually recommended to have a balanced diet, not necessarily Accurate to a few grams and a few pounds.
Ham sausage is a processed meat. In our daily life, we should not only eat less ham sausage, but also eat less bacon, bacon, canned meat, etc., and focus on fresh ingredients to live a healthy life life with as little cancer risk as possible.
References:
[1] “Sausages are high in salt and energy, and there is a risk of cancer”. Life Times. 2021-09-13
[ 2] “Processed meat products ≠ eating cancer, experts recommend healthy diet for citizens”. Nanhai Net. 2015-10-28
[3] “Scientific anti-cancer more than 8 taels of fruits and vegetables per day”. Northeast Net. 2015-08-28