Most consumers know by now that sausages are a preparation of processed meat. They are made from pieces of meat that are often of the worst authorized quality -meat separated mechanically, scraped from the animal’s bones- and only with exceptions and to a limited extent can they form part of a balanced diet. However, sometimes certain strategies are used to make this product more attractive to the buyer.
It is the case of Sausage frankfurt, whose name is reminiscent of massive Bavarian banquets with beer and traditional cold cuts. In reality, it is not very special, it is made from pork stuffed in natural sheep casing. The only thing different is their smoky flavor, which is obtained during a process that makes them even more unhealthy. The Spanish Federation of Nutrition (FEN) points out that a frankfurter is a heat-treated meat derivativesimilar in composition to mortadella or chópedwith a lower quality than that of fresh meat.
A study published in the journal The European Journal of Cancer evidences the risk of processed meats, relating their consumption with increased risk of breast cancer. For the research, a team of researchers from the Institute of Health and Wellness at the University of Glasgow (United Kingdom) followed more than 260,000 women aged 40 to 69 years. They determined that the risk of breast cancer increased significantly for all those who ingested more than nine grams of processed meats each day.
[De la hamburguesa al fuet: esta es la carne asociada a un mayor riesgo de cáncer de mama]
Increased risk of cancer
That same year, Maryam S. Farvid, a researcher in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University, separately analyzed the long-term effects of red meat and processed meat on the body. She conducted a meta-analysis of 18 studies, case controls, and clinical trials. The results, published in la revista International Journal of Cancerconcluded that women who consume processed meat have 9% more chance of suffering from breast cancer than the rest.
Furthermore, the risk would increase by 6% among those women who consume Red meat. In fact, from the report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015 in which it concluded that eating processed meat (sausages, sausages, hamburgers or bacon, for example) was “carcinogenic to humans“, many publications have endorsed the ruling.
more and more consumed
While in Spain the consumption of fresh meat has been reduced from 2020 to 2021, according to a report of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, there has been an increased intake of processed meat compared to 2019. Households purchase 1.8% more products of this type.
Some works they conclude that the risk of colon cancer is increased by and 20% by consuming 25 grams of processed meat daily, according to a group of researchers from the University of Oxford. “It’s not the same good quality meat, cured, with no other additivesthan a mixture of minced meat and remains, with a lot of salt to increase its conservation capacity,” says Concepción Martínez, nutritionist, in this article in EL ESPAÑOL.
More fat and less protein
The Organization of consumers and users (OCU) points out that frankfurter type sausages have very poor nutritional intake. First, they provide less protein than pork (only 12%). They also have an excessive amount of sal (more than 1 gram of salt per 100 grams of product), which is used to provide texture to the product and facilitates water retention. In fact, it adds more water than would be recommended (61%), a plus that the consumer ends up paying. Pay water at the price of meat.
In addition, as they add, these preparations are usually made up mainly of meat more fibrous, with nerves, of less biological and nutritional value. It is made from lean cuts, boneless shoulder, jowls, lips, cheeks and all kinds of offal. Compared to pork, they have 80% more fat35% less protein and a wide variety of additives.
“Having more fat than a steak and less protein, they get fatter for nothing and personally I see its consumption as zero nutritionally speaking. There are lean meat alternatives that also have a smoked touch, if that is what you are looking for,” explains Sofia Hernández, dietitian-nutritionist.
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