There has been a lot of buzz in social media lately about uncured salami, bacon, and ham. Is uncured salami healthy (or bacon and ham)? Are these uncured meats really much different compared to their cured counterparts? Or are cured, conventional meats just as good? Are the health risks equal whether you buy cured meats with chemicals or uncured processed meat with natural ingredients for your charcuterie board? Let’s find out.
What Are Cured Meats?
First of all, cured meats are made by a series of steps that removes moisture through osmosis which removes harmful bacteria. Salt, sodium nitrite, and sodium nitrates are used in this process. Cured meats such as salami, ham, and bacon also contain natural flavors and have a long shelf life.
What is Sodium Nitrite and Sodium Nitrate?
Sodium nitrite (NaNO 2) is a “water-soluble, white-yellow-colored crystalline powder. This synthetic chemical additive is not only used in curing meat, but also in antifreeze.
Sodium nitrates are chemicals ( NaNO 3) that are also dissolvable in water. This chemical occurs naturally in some fruits, vegetables, and grains. When you eat it and it mixes with your saliva, it becomes sodium nitrite. This chemical is used in fertilizer and in conjunction with ammonium nitrate for explosives.
Health Hazards of Sodium Nitrite and Nitrate
Sodium nitrite is associated with a higher cancer risk in adults, especially colon cancer.
Sodium nitrate may harm your blood vessels which raises the risk of heart disease.
Both sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate can mix with amines and amides in your body to form NOCs. These compounds have been proven to cause cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans.
What Are Uncured Meats?
Uncured salami, bacon, and ham are still cured, but with natural ingredients instead of chemicals. Is uncured salami healthy (or bacon and ham)? Sadly, no. Even artisanal salami is still cured. These meats are free of artificial preservatives. Many organic organic companies used the “uncured” label to boost sales of their products because people believe they are the healthier choice. Instead of using sodium nitrite or sodium nitrates to cure deli meat, hot dogs, or bacon, these companies use celery powder and sea salt.
What Is Celery Powder?
Celery powder is made from celery leaves being harvested, cleaned, chopped, blanched, and juiced. This celery juice is processed and stored. After inspection, the juice is pasteurized again and dried with a vacuum dryer to create a powder. This powder is used as a natural preservative.
Health Effects of Celery Powder
Even though celery powder is not a chemical and is derived from natural sources, it contains natural occurring nitrates. In fact, it has a nitrate content of about 2.75%. These natural nitrates carry the same risk of cancer as the chemical preservatives. The process of nitrites and nitrates mixing with amines and amides to form NOCs happens in the mouth when they mix with our saliva, in the stomach when they mix with the gastric juices, and also in the gut. NOCs are the compounds which may lead to cancer in humans. The highest risk is that of colorectal cancer.
The preservation methods for conventional cured meat and uncured meats may be slightly different. However, both synthetic nitrates and nitrites and celery powder produce the same chemical reaction in the body. If you want to have good health, it’s important to reduce the consumption of processed meats and eat more fresh meats instead.
Substitutes for Uncured Salami, Bacon, and Ham
If you love artisanal meats, all this talk about nitrites and nitrates can be depressing. Many of us are trying to up our meat intake to consume more protein, but it is important what type of meat you choose to consume.
It is difficult to meet your protein goals in the morning if you don’t like eggs. Costco carries organic chicken sausage links in the freezer section. The ingredients are organic chicken, water, sea salt, organic spices, organic lemon peel powder. They are very easy to heat up and are a great breakfast meat option. Also, you could buy organic high quality pork ground sausage. When you buy the sausage raw, it does not contain nitrites or nitrates. You could then form your own sausage patties and fry them. I would highly encourage buying organic pork because conventional pigs eat all kinds of junk. You could also choose to buy ground pork and add whole spices to make your own breakfast sausage.
For packed lunches, I would recommend organic roasted turkey for sandwiches, wraps, and turkey and cheese roll ups as an alternative to conventional cold cuts. Costco carries an organic roasted turkey. The ingredients are organic turkey breast, water, and sea salt. Aldi also carries organic smoked turkey breast. The ingredients are organic turkey breast, water, sea salt, and organic honey. Whatever brand you chose to buy, check the ingredients list. Make sure it doesn’t contain added nitrates, nitrites, or celery powder.
Salami Brands That Are Nitrate Free
Due to demand for nitrate-free salami, the following companies have devised a way to cure salami without the use of nitrites, nitrates, and celery powder: Na*Kyrsie Meats, Olli Salumeria, MeatCrafters, and Rovagnati. All of these companies sell salami and other meats online that are way better for your digestive health than conventional options.
Final Thoughts “Is Uncured Salami Healthy (or Bacon, and Ham)?”
All of us need to eat more protein and good fats during the day, especially at breakfast. It is difficult to eat enough protein at breakfast without bacon or sausage. Unfortunately, the meat industry has chosen profit over consumer safety and processes meat with chemicals like sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate which are harmful to our health. The so-called “healthier” companies use celery powder which basically acts just like synthetic nitrate in our body. We can choose to buy meats that do not contain these harmful ingredients. Costco and the brands listed above have several options available. Overall, limiting our consumption of processed meat is better for our health.
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