New study on Processed Meat and Heart Diseases

Many of us started running for health reasons.  Running as an exercise and lifestyle certainly lowers several health risks.  But like many health supplement commercials, it says …with exercise and a healthy diet.  Thus, we need to watch what we eat too in order to maximize the benefits we get from exercise.

I’m not a total health buff and I don’t watch my diet properly.  And lately, I acknowledge how often I would eat processed foods to save time in cooking and preparing meal.  But a recent article made me want to open my cookbooks and cook them from scratch.

The study says: Processed meat linked to higher heart disease, diabetes risk.  Read more for the findings.

To read the complete article, visit boston.com.

Here’s a quick outline of the findings.

• Eating unprocessed red meat was not associated with heart disease or diabetes.
• People who ate at least one serving a day of processed red meat, like one hot dog or two deli slices, had a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 19 percent higher risk of diabetes than people who did not eat processed red meat.
• The salt and preservatives found in processed meat may account for the difference. Some processed meat has four times the salt that unprocessed meat has, and salt is a known contributor to high blood pressure, which can cause heart disease. Processed meat preservatives such as nitrates have been linked to lowered glucose tolerance, which is a factor in diabetes.

I don’t eat pork, so my choices for processed meat are very few but I’m still at risk.  I like corned beef and beef luncheon meat which comprises most of my breakfast.  Beef Franks are the best but I don’t buy them regularly since they are expensive.

Researchers also say that this requires further study.  Red meat is still a good source of  protein, amino acids and essential nutrients like iron and zinc that are the keys to good health.  But it doesn’t mean that you can eat all the unprocessed meat that you like.

The key is balanced diet and to eat foods that can be protective and lowers the risk or health problems like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish.