Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Health and Nutrition => Topic started by: Matthew on May 21, 2013, 04:58:29 PM
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Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption
May 16, 2013
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has just completed a detailed review of more than 7,000 clinical studies covering links between diet and cancer. Its conclusion is rocking the health world with startling bluntness: Processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption. Consumers should stop buying and eating all processed meat products for the rest of their lives.
Processed meats include bacon, sausage, hot dogs, sandwich meat, packaged ham, pepperoni, salami and virtually all red meat used in frozen prepared meals. They are usually manufactured with a carcinogenic ingredient known as sodium nitrite. This is used as a color fixer by meat companies to turn packaged meats a bright red color so they look fresh. Unfortunately, sodium nitrite also results in the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines in the human body. And this leads to a sharp increase in cancer risk for those who eat them.
A 2005 University of Hawaii study found that processed meats increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 67 percent. Another study revealed that every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 21 percent. These are alarming numbers. Note that these cancer risks do not come from eating fresh, non-processed meats. They only appear in people who regularly consume processed meat products containing sodium nitrite.
Sodium nitrite appears predominantly in red meat products (you won’t find it in chicken or fish products). Here’s a short list of food items to check carefully for sodium nitrite and monosodium glutamate (MSG), another dangerous additive:
Beef jerky
Bacon
Sausage
Hot dogs
Sandwich meat
Frozen pizza with meat
Canned soups with meat
Frozen meals with meat
Ravioli and meat pasta foods
Kid’s meals containing red meat
Sandwich meat used at popular restaurants
Nearly all red meats sold at public schools, restaurants, hospitals, hotels and theme parks
If sodium nitrite is so dangerous to humans, why do the FDA and USDA continue to allow this cancer-causing chemical to be used? The answer, of course, is that food industry interests now dominate the actions by U.S. government regulators. The USDA, for example, tried to ban sodium nitrite in the late 1970′s but was overridden by the meat industry.5 It insisted the chemical was safe and accused the USDA of trying to “ban bacon.”
Today, the corporations that dominate American food and agricultural interests hold tremendous influence over the FDA and USDA. Consumers are offered no real protection from dangerous chemicals intentionally added to foods, medicines and personal care products.
You can protect yourself and your family from the dangers of processed meats by following a few simple rules:
Always read ingredient labels.
Don’t buy anything made with sodium nitrite or monosodium glutamate.
Don’t eat red meats served by restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels or other institutions.
And finally, eat more fresh produce with every meal. There is evidence that natural vitamin C found in citrus fruits and exotic berries (like camu camu) helps prevent the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines, protecting you from the devastating health effects of sodium nitrite in processed meats. The best defense, of course, is to avoid eating processed meats altogether.
http://www.wcrf-uk.org/cancer_prevention/recommendations/meat_and_cancer.php
http://dreamhealer.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/processed-meats-declared-too-dangerous-for-human-consumption/
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I have always known this, but it is still scary.
The only trouble I would have with that kind of diet is staying away from bacon. Quality of life suffers without bacon. :ready-to-eat:
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No Bacon! :faint:
No Sausage! :faint:
No Hot Dogs! :faint:
Oh my...
All kidding aside, all those items are already being made w/out nitrites or nitrates. Check out a really good natural food store. And of course you can make your own sausage at home, not as links but as patties.
The food chemical/cancer connection has long been known, I hope this latest study will get wide press.
Marsha
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Another great reason to raise and process your own meat.
I've been very fortunate. I've never had to buy red meat from a grocery store because my family raises their own livestock.
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You can make sausage links if you buy the casings (or use your own from butchering, if you clean them) and use a sausage stuffer.
I think lamb intestine casings are the best.
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Just in time for Memorial Day. . . :)
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Not sure exactly how much of a difference it makes but we always boil our processed meats. We then season the meat with salt, pepper, garlic...etc.
It certainly can't hurt.
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I won't be surprised if I get some disease like cancer from all of the poisons out there.
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When we barbecue we don't use commercial hot dogs. Home made Italian sausages taste better. No chemicals. Fresh and tasty. You will never miss the carcinogens. In Italy, American hot dogs are unheard of. Italian bacon, pancetta, is not smoked and has no chemicals.
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I won't be surprised if I get some disease like cancer from all of the poisons out there.
We all have such a heavy chemical load on our bodies what with food, air, and water being contaminated in so many ways. I guess all we can do is lighten the load where we can since there are so many things we cannot control.
Marsha
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You have to die of something.
I eat everything in moderation and trust on God's providence. "Consider the lilies of the field" and all that. I don't stuff myself with hot dogs but every now and then I will eat a hot dog, covered with onions fried in butter and ketchup and mustard. Yummy.
There are not very many legitimate pleasures of the flesh in life. I don't smoke, I drink very modestly and if eating a wide variety of food, including some junk food kills me a decade earlier then, frankly, so what?
If I missed my 20s or teens I would be disappointed. They were fun. But post 50 I am really not that bothered if I miss a decade of my teeth getting loose and needing to wake up several times at night to take a pee. The typical male in my family dies at 85. 65-70 would suit me just fine.
The way the fαɢɢօts and freaks are taking over our societies an early death would be a blessed relief. An cancer has he advantage that you can get into spiritual shape before you die. You know it is coming.
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http://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon
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http://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/11/us/a-report-on-nitrites-finds-cured-meats-are-relatively-safe.html