The effects of processed meats on your heart health (2024)

FAQs

The effects of processed meats on your heart health? ›

How much processed meat should you eat? The study found that eating 150 grams (slightly more than 5 ounces) or more of processed meat a week increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 46% and the risk of death by 50% when compared to eating no processed meat.

Unfortunately, when these processed meats are preserved, cancer-causing substances form. “Research shows that eating processed meats like bacon and cold cuts can increase your chances for stomach and colorectal cancer,” says Lindsey Wohlford, employee wellness dietitian at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Meat and poultry

Saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. If you eat poultry, pork, beef or other meats, choose lean meat, skinless poultry, and unprocessed forms. Eat them in healthy portions. One serving of cooked meat, fish or chicken is 3 ounces.

Processed meats include bacon; sausage; hot dogs; ham; deli meats; canned meats; jerky; and meat that is processed, cured, fermented or salted. These meats tend to be high in saturated fat, sodium, and nitrates or nitrites, which are thought to be implicated in their associated risks.

You have probably heard it many times already: don't eat too much red meat or processed foods. But research shows processed red meats, like bacon, hot dogs, and salami are the biggest problem.

Linking processed meats and heart disease

That transformation often leaves processed meat with a high concentration of salt, in addition to the saturated fat many meats already contain. The added salt can quickly add up, increasing blood pressure, weight and the risk of heart disease – three common causes of CVD.

Eating too much bacon, sausages, hot dogs, canned meat, or lunch meat—meat that has been processed in some way to preserve or flavor it—is bad for health, according to experts. A number of studies have found links between processed meat and various forms of cancer, as well as heart disease and diabetes.

While meat can be a part of a healthy diet, not all sources are created equal. The leanest and healthiest meats to eat include poultry, pork, fish, and seafood. Eating a balanced diet is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle, which means choosing various foods from different food groups, like proteins.

There are so many myths about meat, including whether it sits in your gut for ages after you eat it. Nothing 'sits' in your gut. Your digestive system is not a recycling centre that carefully separates your food into meat, vegetables, grains and so on and then processes them separately.

Is 3 eggs a day too much? ›

Eating one to three eggs per day can have several health benefits, but this varies from person to person. At this level of consumption, people can expect minimal changes in their cholesterol levels. It is unclear whether there is an upper limit on how many eggs a person can eat per day.

For example, eggs typically are eaten with other foods high in salt, saturated fat and cholesterol, such as bacon, cheese and butter. These foods are known to increase heart disease risk and should be eaten sparingly. Most healthy people can eat up to seven eggs a week without affecting their heart health.

Six eggs a day is a hell of a lot, no matter how you cut it. An egg has 187 mg of cholesterol, and the recommended limit is 300 mg per day—or only 200 mg if you have diabetes or risk factors for heart disease. “You can definitely go with with one egg a day,” says Maxine Smith, R.D., L.D.

It is recommended that you do not eat too much red meat, processed meat or meat that is high in saturated fats as this can lead to health problems.

Chicken. Chicken tends to be responsible for the most foodborne illnesses, but that is likely because it's the kind of meat we eat the most. Many cases of food contamination come from the mishandling of meats and cross-contamination in our own kitchens.

LEAD researchers also found that the global livestock industry uses dwindling supplies of freshwater, destroys forests and grasslands, and causes soil erosion, while pollution and the runoff of fertilizer and animal waste create dead zones in coastal areas and smother coral reefs.

Heavily processed foods often include unhealthy levels of added sugar, sodium and fat. These ingredients make the food we eat taste better, but too much of them leads to serious health issues like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

The normal range for transit time includes the following: gastric emptying (2 to 5 hours), small bowel transit (2 to 6 hours), colonic transit (10 to 59 hours), and whole gut transit (10 to 73 hours). Your digestion rate is also based on what you've eaten. Meat and fish can take as long as 2 days to fully digest.

Focusing on eating unprocessed foods, sometimes called "clean eating," has several health benefits, such as boosting your mood, helping you lose weight, and improving sleep. To do this, you may want to limit your intake of processed foods, including cheese, processed meats, sugar-sweetened drinks, and potato chips.