Wednesday, April 18, 2007

[hot dog] there's death in that there food

There are studies coming out left, right and centre and researchers need to justify their research grants. Still, there might be something in this one:

A US study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, examines the link between frequent consumption of cured meats and impaired lung function in terms of the increased odds of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Other studies, mostly on animals, have shown a link between nitrite consumption and reduced lung function.

Nitrites are added to cured meat such as bacon, hot dogs and cured ham as preservative, colour or as anti-bacterial agents. They are thought to generate reactive nitrogen species in the body -- molecules that cause structural damage to lung tissue, in a similar way to emphysema.

The results showed that, even after adjusting for smoking, diet, age and other factors:

-- The more cured meat they ate, the poorer the participants' lung function.

-- Those who consumed cured meat 14 times a month were 78 per cent more likely to have COPD than those who ate none or very little.

Critics of the study say that cured meat no longer contains the levels of nitrites that were present ten or twenty years ago, and therefore these results do not reflect today's situation. There are other sources of nitrites in the average diet, where only about 5 per cent comes from cured meat, they say.

Dr Jiang and colleagues did find that participants who ate the most cured meat were also more likely to smoke, be male, and of lower socio-economic status. They were also more likely to consume more calories, and eat less fresh fruit and vegetables.

According to the US National Library of Medicine, the leading cause of COPD is smoking, and 15 to 20 per cent of long term smokers develop the condition.

So actually, the other factors are the ones to watch. On the other hand, maybe it's time, after all, to give up the proscuttio and cured ham.

5 comments:

  1. I never understood why they call it cured when it is clearly dead. Our NHS does not need to have confusing words like this when I go to be cured.

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  2. Nice linguistic comment, bag.

    Well, Italians should be very unhealthy, then, unless the fruit counteracts the effects of the prosciutto.

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  3. Like it, Bag, like it. Welshcakes, you were very gentle with me for misspelling 'prosciutto'.

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  4. Bag, yes, what exactly is it cured of? But who cares if it is unhealthy, these meats are too scrummy to leave on the plate.

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