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Study suggests salt, presevatives in some meats a real health risk.

Eating bacon, sausage, hot dogs and other processed meats can raise the
risk of heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a
study that identifies the real bad boys of the meat counter.

Eating unprocessed beef, pork or lamb appeared not to raise risks of heart
attacks and diabetes, they said, suggesting that salt and chemical
preservatives may be the real cause of these two health problems
associated with eating meat.

The study, an analysis of other research called a meta-analysis, did not
look at high blood pressure or cancer, which are also linked with high
meat consumption.

“To lower risk of heart attacks and diabetes, people should consider which
types of meats they are eating,” said Renata Micha of the Harvard School
of Public Health, whose study appears in the journal Circulation.

“Processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs and processed
deli meats may be the most important to avoid,” Micha said in a statement.

Based on her findings, she said people who eat one serving per week or
less of processed meats have less of a risk.

Most dietary guidelines recommend eating less meat. Individual studies
looking at relationships between eating meat and cardiovascular diseases
and diabetes have had mixed results.

But studies rarely look for differences in risk between processed and
unprocessed red meats, Micha said.

She and colleagues did a systematic review of nearly 1,600 studies from
around the world looking for evidence of a link between eating processed
and unprocessed red meat and the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

They defined processed meat as any meat preserved by smoking, curing or
salting, or with the addition of chemical preservatives. Meats in this
category included bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs or processed deli or
luncheon meats.

Unprocessed red meat included beef, lamb or pork but not poultry.

They found that on average, each 1.8 oz (50 grams) daily serving of
processed meat a day ? one to two slices of deli meats or one hot dog ?
was associated with a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 19
percent higher risk of developing diabetes.

They found no higher heart or diabetes risk in people who ate only
unprocessed red meats.

The team adjusted for a number of factors, including how much meat people
ate. They said lifestyle factors were similar between those who ate
processed and unprocessed meats.

“When we looked at average nutrients in unprocessed red and processed
meats eaten in the United States, we found that they contained similar
average amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol,” Micha said.

“In contrast, processed meats contained, on average, four times more
sodium and 50 percent more nitrate preservatives,” Micha added.

Last month, the Institute of Medicine urged the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to regulate the amount of salt added to foods to help
Americans cut their high sodium intake.

The FDA has not yet said whether it will regulate salt in foods, but it is
looking at the issue.

To read more link onto The Vancouver Sun website at:  http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Bacon+sausage+tobacco/3040139/story.html

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