A new study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has some interesting results for people who enjoy eating cold cuts and hotdogs. The study found that the risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases by 42% if you eat meats and processed meats and the risk of developing diabetes also increases by 19% by eating this kind of food.
According to a report in the journal Circulation, after reviewing 1,600 studies with a combined total of 1,218,000 participants, researchers concluded that consuming 50 grams per day of processed meats (the equivalent of a hotdog or a few slices of smoked bacon) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. One meal per week, however, represents little risk.
Renata Micha is a research fellow in the department of epidemiology at HSPH and lead author of the study. She says, "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. In contrast, processed meats contained, on average, 4 times more sodium and 50% more nitrate preservatives. This suggests that differences in salt and preservatives, rather than fats, might explain the higher risk of heart disease and diabetes seen with processed meats, but not with unprocessed red meats."
We already knew that salt increases blood pressure and nitrates promote thickening of the walls of large arteries.
Further studies are planned to measure the health effects of fresh and processed meat, and their impact on colon cancer.