Bacon, ham can be said to be the "top" presence of processed meat.
However, the World Health Organization has listed processed meat products such as ham and bacon as Class 1 carcinogens, and the degree of carcinogenicity is similar to the harm of "arsenic" and "cigarettes" to the body
In fact, as early as 2015, the World Health Organization issued an assessment report that processed meat is a class 1 carcinogen, while red meat is a class 2A carcinogen.
However, be aware that carcinogenicity does not equal "toxicity":
Arsenic is a relatively strong carcinogen, and the toxicity is huge, even a small amount can cause the death of an adult, mostly in a short period of time.
However, although ham, bacon, etc. also have certain carcinogenicity, they do not have a highly toxic nature.
How are carcinogen grades divided?
Class 1 carcinogens: It has been clear that a substance is harmful to the body and has carcinogenicity. Such as: aflatoxin, benzopyrene, cigarettes, alcohol and so on.
Class 2A carcinogens: Carcinogens with high probability have certain carcinogenicity to "mice", but the harm to the human body is not yet clear.
Class 2B carcinogens: low carcinogenicity, animal experiments and human experiments, carcinogenicity evidence is insufficient.
3 types of carcinogens: it is not clear whether it can cause cancer in humans;
Class 4 carcinogens: substances that are unlikely to cause cancer in humans;
Processed meat products, however, are at risk of carcinogenicity:
Because of the processing of meat products, most of the production methods are smoked, pickled, added chemicals and other ways to process meat, the most common is ham sausage, bacon, sausage and so on.
The study found that eating about 50g of bacon per day increased the risk of colorectal cancer by about 21%, and the more you ate, the higher the risk of cancer.
Mainly because processed meat products contain nitroso compounds, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, saturated fatty acids and other factors.
So, is it really impossible to eat processed meat products?
Many people see that the risk of cancer is 21% and they are scared to stop eating processed meat products such as ham and bacon, in fact, this refers to a 21% increase in risk, not a 21% risk of cancer.
In other words, if the usual risk of cancer is 1%, then if you eat ham and bacon, the risk of cancer will become 1.21%.
The risk is still particularly low, but anything is often not "eaten", as the saying goes, "too much is too late".
Take "red meat", for example, it contains essential substances, such as: iron, vitamin B12, protein, etc., from the perspective of balanced diet, you should eat about 75g a day, that is, one or two halves.
In general, when eating meat, try to choose fresh meat, avoid eating some smoked, pickled and other ways to make meat products.
If you really like to eat ham, bacon, etc., it is still okay to eat it once in a while, you must remember that do not eat it regularly, the harm to the body is real.