Deli Turkey Is What????

In the wake of the recent Boar's Head meat tragedy, several people have asked me what I think about "deli meats."

My first thought was that it's a good idea to reconsider any food that pregnant women are told to avoid.

Pregnant women are cautioned about eating processed meat because of the risk of Listeria. The risk is somewhat rare--about 2,500 people will become infected with Listeria each year. In the Boar's Head case, 9 people died and many more got sick.

Deli meat is a "processed food"

Processed meat has been salted, cured, fermented, smoked, or undergone other processes to preserve it or enhance its flavor (like smoked or flavored meats).

The evidence that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer is strong enough that the World Health Organization has declared processed meat a carcinogen.

Hot dogs, sausages, ham, bacon, and jerky are the most common types of processed meats but poultry can also qualify as "processed."

Even oven-roasted sliced turkey is likely to have added salt, sodium chloride, sodium phosphate, or potassium chloride, making it a processed meat.

The meats in the Boar's Head recall didn't include poultry (liverwurst was the deadly one) but meats and cheeses can become contaminated by other products in the deli.

Be skeptical about "no nitrates"

The link between processed meats and cancer may come down, at least in large part, to nitrates.

Nitrates and nitrites are added to meats and some cheeses as a preservative. The body converts them to nitrosamines, carcinogenic compounds that can increase your risk of cancer.

You might see "no nitrates," “organic,” “natural” or “preservative-free” on the label but notice the ingredients will include celery powder, celery juice, or some other natural sources of sodium nitrite.
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Don't fall for it. I did....😬

Meats cured with those substitutes end up containing just as much nitrate and nitrite as the chemically cured meats and likely pose the same health risks.

Do you need to give up processed meats?

The healthiest option is to buy your own products and cook them yourself but yeah, that's not always convenient.

If you're going to eat meat products processed with nitrates, minimize the effect of the nitrosamines by eating them with foods containing vitamin C.

Throw a slice of tomato on your sandwich.

Have an orange with your bacon at breakfast.

And maybe don't eat processed meats every day......