There’s no clear definition -- it’s more of a description -- but if you smoke it, salt it, cure it, or add preservatives to it, it’s probably processed. People who eat a lot of these kinds of meats are more likely to get heart disease, diabetes, and even certain kinds of cancer, thanks to all the salt, fat, and chemical preservatives
Bacon
The
fat in bacon is no secret -- it splatters away right there in the pan when you
cook it. But not all bacon is the same. Look for brands lower in salt and
nitrates -- some use none at all -- and go with leaner cuts.
Cold Cuts
Hunks
of beef, ham, and turkey are preserved with various amounts of salt,
seasonings, sugar, and sometimes chemicals, and sliced for sandwiches or
snacks. Check the ingredients -- quality cold cuts, though still processed, can
be a healthy part of a balanced diet, as long as you don’t eat them every day.
Hot Dogs
These
processed tubes of meat are a staple at baseball games and neighborhood
cookouts. Some brands use more ... er ... parts of the animal than others, but
most of them are still loaded with salt, saturated fat, and nitrates.
Fast
Food Chicken Nuggets
They’re
easy to pop in your mouth, but they’re processed. There’s chicken meat in them,
along with bones, blood vessels, nerves, connective tissue, fat, and skin. If
you buy your own chicken and bake it in bite-size chunks, you can leave out the
stuff you’d rather not think about, let alone eat.
Beef Jerky
It’s
the perfect traveling meat snack: dried, salted meat you can put in your pocket.
Quality makes a difference here: Cheaper, mass-produced beef jerky can have
added sugar along with the fat and salt. But high-quality beef jerky is still
processed meat, so don’t overdo it.
Pepperoni
It’s
a favorite topping for pizza, but it’s part of a family of processed meats --
fermented sausages -- that have all the usual suspects: salt, fat, calories,
sugar, and preservatives. To ferment a sausage, you let the raw meat cure in
its casing, which gives it that tangy flavor and chewy texture.
Breakfast Sausage
If
it comes in a package, glistens like it’s been dropped in a vat of oil, and
tastes like a salt lick, it’s probably not that good for you. It sure looks
tasty next to those eggs, though. If you’ve gotta have it, check the
ingredients for lower amounts of salt and preservatives. You also can try
turkey, chicken, or even vegetarian sausage for less fatty alternatives.
Pancetta
This
is pork belly that’s been preserved with salt. Unlike bacon, it’s not smoked as
part of the curing process, and that’s a plus because smoked meat has been
linked to some kinds of cancer. It’s found mostly at specialty delis and
usually has fewer preservatives. But it’s still full of fat, calories, and, of
course, salt, so make it a rare treat.
Fast Food Hamburgers
The
ground beef fast food restaurants use in their hamburgers often has growth
hormones and antibiotics to go along with all the salt, fat, and preservatives.
It’s a better idea to make your burgers at home with good quality leanground
beef or ground turkey. Ground is different than mince.
Deviled Ham
You
can make it in a food processor at home -- with some cooked ham, mustard, mayo,
hot sauce, and onions. That’s better for you than the stuff that comes in cans
at the supermarket. It often has too much salt and preservatives like sodium
nitrate -- a chemical that may make you more likely to have heart disease or
diabetes
Vienna Sausages
It
may be different in Austria, but inBritain, these are tiny sausages in a can.
They’re made from “mechanically separated chicken” -- meaning the bones are
taken out with a machine, and all the rest of the animal is used -- along with
small amounts of pork or beef. It’s all ground to a fine paste and cooked in
little hot dog casings, ready to eat when you pop the top.
Canned Corned Beef
Hash
Fry
some chopped corned beef (typically brisket that's been salted and cured) with
some onions and potatoes, and you’ve got corned beef hash. Put it in a can and
you have an inexpensive meat product loaded with fat, preservatives, and salt.
For a healthier take, make your own version with turkey pastrami.
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