Nutri-Living Solutions

15 Things You Never Thought
You Needed to Know About ... Lunchmeat
© 2013 Health Realizations, Inc.

Few things are quite as American as brown-bagging it with a bologna or ham and cheese lunchmeat sandwich. Indeed, refrigerated processed meats, including deli meats, brought in about $17 billion in just one year according to a report by Packaged Facts.

And when it comes to deli meats, there's something to suit every taste: beerwurst, olive loaf, chicken roll, pastrami, summer sausage, and the list goes on and on. But underneath the glossy cellophane packages and fancy cold-cut names hide some facts you need to know:

1. There are three types of lunchmeat: Whole cuts of meat (roast beef, turkey breast), sectioned and formed products (cooked hams), and processed products (bologna).

2. Most luncheon meats contain nitrites and nitrates, which are preservatives, coloring and flavoring in bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, corned beef, smoked fish and other processed meat additives that have been linked to cancer. Sodium Nitrites (Sodium Nitrates) can lead to the formation of nitrosamines, "which have been identified as carcinogenic substances for quite some time. Cancers of the esophagus, larynx, mouth, liver and stomach seem to be associated with nitrosamines," says Alexander Hall, an assistant professor at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto. Some studies have found a link between consuming cured meats and nitrite and cancer in humans.

3. Meat byproducts including lips, tripe, pork stomachs and heart are sometimes used in processed lunchmeat products.

4. Many lunchmeats, including ham, roast beef and turkey, contain added solutions of water, sodium and water or water and spices plus some contain artificial sweeteners. These added liquid solutions will be listed on the label as something like "Contains Up To 10% Added Moisture."

5. Once opened, pre-packaged cold cuts will last three to five days. Cold cuts sliced from the deli will last one to three days.

6. The infamous SPAM luncheon meat is mostly pork shoulder, ham and secret spices.

7. Many lunchmeats contain monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer that, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock, an author and neurosurgeon, has been associated with sudden cardiac death, particularly in athletes, and excitotoxic damage to brain neurons.

8. Refrigerated sliced lunchmeats are a $3-billion industry.

9. The Oscar Mayer brand name, now famous for its packaged meat products, was developed in 1929.

10. Bologna deli meat is named after Bologna, Italy (where the authentic "bologna," known as mortadella, is popular).

11. The first canned ham was sold by the Hormel Company of Austin, Minnesota in 1926.

12. Head cheese, often found in the deli case with lunchmeats, is not a type of cheese. It is a meat product made from a mixture of boiled pork scraps (including the head), pigs' feet and vinegar, which is blended, formed into loafs and left alone to cool and jell.

13. Pimento loaf is made from chopped pork and beef with sweet pickles and pimentos added.

14. In August 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved six viruses as a food additive to be sprayed on cold cuts and packaged deli meats. The viruses are intended to protect against the food-borne-bacteria Listeria monocytogenes that is sometimes found on cold, packaged meat products.

15. Sandwiches, a $121-billion market, are the most popular item eaten by Americans, according to food experts.

Some Doctors and various experts believe that cancers (and other diseases) exist in our DNA resulting in only two things believed to be able to cause or affect cancer-long term (in addition to immediate treatment of identifiable cancer symptoms):

1. Prevention: Stopping cancer from being expressed in the DNA. Once expressed it is reported to not able to be reversed or unexpressed (like alcoholism, once an alcoholic, the disease is understood to remain a condition unable to be reversed).

2. Remission: Once cancer is expressed (i.e. symptoms appear or are identified) it is possible for some people to put cancer into remission preventing further symptoms, by removing and or stopping exposure to those factors that caused it to be expressed.

If there is “no cause”, then there should be "no need for a cure."

If you have any concerns including symptoms that you believe might be cancer (or clues related to other diseases or illness) please do not hesitate to make an appointment for examination right away... call today.

Sources

MSNBC.com

Packaged Facts

TodaysParent.com

CSPI's Guide to Food Additives

Harmful Chemicals

Wikipedia: Neurotoxicity