Recently, Russian oncologist Sheryakov showed that eating 50 grams of processed sausages per day increases the probability of colon cancer by 18%.
Not only sausages, but all processed meat products, including small enemas, short and coarse enemas, ham, and canned meat, are high-risk carcinogens.
In addition to nitrites, processed meat products also contain phenylpropionene. This substance is decomposed by wood at high temperatures during the smoking process and has carcinogenic activity.
Seeing this, I believe many friends will worry: will sausages really cause cancer? How much to eat to be healthy? Today, Dr. Li will talk to you about whether processed meat products are carcinogenic.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="11" > nitrites in processed meat products</h1>
The history of adding nitrite to meat products goes back a long time: a secret recipe for preserving sausages and ham was discovered, which was to add saltpeter to the process of curing.
This method can make the meat become bright red, and the meat looks more appetizing; the meat without saltpeter looks gray and cannot arouse people's appetite.
In addition, meat with saltpeter can also be preserved for a longer time, and it is less prone to food poisoning caused by meat deterioration, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
Later it was learned that the main component of saltpeter is nitrates, which are converted to nitrites after being added to meat products. As a result, people began to add nitrites directly to meat products.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="11" > is nitrite really carcinogenic? </h1>
For the nitrite in processed meat products, I believe many friends have heard of the saying that "nitrite poisoning" and "nitrite causes cancer", is this true?
First of all, trace amounts of nitrite are still beneficial to human health: they can kill harmful bacteria in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract; they can form nitric oxide, which has the risk of dilating blood vessels, antioxidants, and reducing arteriosclerosis.
However, excessive amounts of nitrite are toxic, and a one-time high-dose intake (0.3-0.5 grams) can cause poisoning. In this regard, the state has mandatory standards, the limit of cured bacon is 30mg/kg, and the limit of pickled ham is 70mg/kg.
From this point of view, as long as the purchase of meat products from regulated manufacturers, the risk of acute poisoning is negligible.
However, the carcinogenic risk of processed meat products still needs to be paid attention to.
It must be pointed out that nitrite itself is not carcinogenic, and the carcinogenic substance is nitrosamine, which requires nitrite to bind to amino acids to form.
Specifically, the protein in processed meat products is decomposed into amino acids after entering the intestine, and the amino acids are combined with the nitrites in the processed meat to form nitrosamines with carcinogenic effects.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="11" > can processed meat be eaten? </h1>
Since processed meat contains nitrites, can processed meat products still be eaten? How to eat healthier?
It should be emphasized that there is no minimum dose of nitrosamine-induced cancer, and long-term, low-dose intake can also increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, the following recommendations are made:
First, for processed meat, it is completely possible to eat it casually, but it is not recommended to eat more.
Especially those processed meats that look particularly bright, it is even more important to stay away, because nitrite may exceed the standard.
Second, when eating processed meat, you can add fresh vegetables, fruits and garlic supplements.
Vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamin C, which can reduce nitrosamines, and the allicin in garlic can inhibit the synthesis of nitrosamines, which can reduce the carcinogenic risk of nitrosamines.
Third, it is safer to choose fresh meat.
A number of animal and human experiments in Europe and the United States have proved that fresh red meat has nothing to do with cancer. The European Prospective Survey on Cancer and Nutrition concluded that fish is good for health, red meat is harmless, and processed meat is harmful.
Fourth, the problem of benzopyrene processing meat.
Benzopyrene is mainly produced in the process of meat food, there is no way to avoid it at present, the only thing that can be done is to eat less.
In fact, in addition to processed meat, barbecue and fried foods also have more benzopyrene, which is avoided as much as possible in daily diets.
For more cancer and health-related knowledge, please continue to pay attention to [Doctor Li Feng]!