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Five years ago my life completely changed. It wasn’t an overnight disaster that shattered me, but rather a slow never-ending day by day worsening state of misery. You can read more of my story here.

Eventually, I decided to focus on what I was eating as a method of healing. What went in my mouth was only part of the success, because as it turns out, it’s what doesn’t get put in that is just as important.

From a normal average diet of ‘I eat everything’ including salads and drinking water, I also munched on *crap* that only paraded as ‘food’ and was potentially becoming the slowest form of poison…

Growing up, I ate what I would considered a Standard European Diet ~ lots of home cooking with fresh ingredients but mostly all meals were still unhealthy as they were based on heavy consumption of wheat, potatoes, eggs, meat and sugar… and it seems like everything was fried and too many vegetables were cooked right through – killing the life out of their nutrition.

Meat was meat and no one questioned what was in it. My mom trusted the system too much and thought that if it’s on the shelves of the stores to buy – it must be ‘food’.

Years later, when time came to heal me…. can you guess what first foods I got rid of? Processed Meats.

I already wrote about the meat products and the meat factory industry with the article : Not All Meat is The Same. But let’s go deeper than what animals eat, and deeper than eating meat, right into the 90,000 toxins that get added into these products — claiming to be ‘food’!

There are numerous studies out there confirming the obvious!
Processed Meat is Unsafe for Human Consumption!

If that information is out there, why are these products still on the shelves of our grocery stores and why are slices of it put in our kids’ lunch boxes? (not my child, but just being generic here).

Processed Meats Cause Cancer:

Anyone wishing to prevent cancer from killing you slowly – should avoid eating all processed meats!

Why? Because processed meats contain chemical additives that are known to greatly increase the risk of various cancers, including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and many more.

Scary? Yes, it is! Why is this done then, you ask? Oh there are many reasons, mainly to prolong the shelf life of meat products, enhance flavour, enhance texture – so that you are ‘happier’ with your purchase and the company who manufactures this ‘food’ makes more money. Simple.

So what is Processed Meat exactly?

Let’s look at the only two options out there : Fresh Meat & Processed Meat.

Fresh Meat has only one ingredient. The meat! (although that too should be looked at closer to be sure that it’s organically raised at a farm rather than a factory to avoid other dangerous hormones and toxins that grow along with the animal.

Processed Meat has many ingredients in it. It’s usually packaged more fancier than regular meat and it has an Ingredient list with more than one item. In most cases it has sodium nitrite, as one of the ingredients.

Processed foods most likely are : bacon, sausage, pepperoni, beef jerky, deli slices, sandwich meat, ham, canned meat, meat used in prepared and/or frozen dishes and yes, HOT DOGS:

“Children who eat more than 12 hot dogs per month have nine times the normal risk of developing childhood leukemia, a USC epidemiologist has reported in a cancer research journal. Two other reports in the same issue of Cancer Causes and Control suggest that children born to mothers who eat at least one hot dog per week during pregnancy have double the normal risk of developing brain tumors, as do children whose fathers ate hot dogs before conception.” 

Here is the source for this study.

What are the Dangerous Chemicals in Processed Meats?

SODIUM NITRATE : also called sodium nitrite, is a chemical compound used in the processing of meat products such as cold cuts, hot dogs, ham and bacon. According to the SixWise website, sodium nitrate is a common colouring and flavoring agent, as well as a preservative, for meat products. This makes meat more appealing to consumers. Unfortunately, there are several dangers of using this chemical.

Dangers associated with consumption of Sodium Nitrite:

Cancer : Ingestion of sodium nitrate forms nitrosamines which are chemicals that promote the growth of cancerous cells. Nitrosamines may contribute to colon, pancreatic and other cancers. The USDA attempted to ban the use of sodium nitrate in the 1970′s but met opposition from the US meat industry.

Respiratory Distress : Inhalation of sodium Nitrate can contribute to respiratory distress. It irritates the lining of the respiratory tract and cause poisoning of the lungs.

Skin Irritation : Direct contact with Sodium Nitrate would cause skin irritation, pain and redness. The skin would also absorb the chemical, poisoning the body’s organs and tissues.

Irritation of the lining of the stomach : abdominal pain, irregular breathing, nausea, vomiting, convulsions and coma.

Here are the top 4 dangerous additives and contamination in meat:

Sodium Nitrate : (described above)

MSG – Monosodium glutamate : second most dangerous chemical. It is most commonly added to enhance flavour in meat. It is an excitotoxin, which is linked to neurological disorders such as migraines, headaches, Alzheimer’s disease, loss of appetite control, obesity and other serious conditions. (because I was diagnosed with a neurological disease, could it be that me removing all meat from my diet for 4 years lead to my improved health? I say it’s very possible!)

Processed Salt : Added to enhance meat flavour and used as a preservative. It is also linked to nutritional problems and high blood pressure.

Contamination in Meat : Non-organically raised meat is also highly contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl), heavy metals, pesticide residues from feed and other dangerous substances.

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To protect yourself and your family, along with your young kids who can’t decide for themselves what gets put on their plate (or lunch boxes) – please do not purchase any processed meats!

If you must eat meat,

• Read labels carefully to check for the ingredients list to be sure none of the dangerous additives are listed (be careful,I have once purchase from M&M Meat Shops and even just plain chicken breasts are not just chicken breasts.),
• Purchase from reputable all-natural organically raised farms,
• Do not eat any hot dogs or deli meats but purchase real meat – notice how turkey meat is very dry but a deli turkey slice is so moist and juicy – how is that possible if it isn’t fillers? If you want turkey on your sandwich, buy an all-natural turkey breast, book the meat and slice it on your sandwich.
• Don’t trust anyone. You decide what you purchase and what you put in your mouth. There are small local European delis that may seem reputable – research every detail. Ask about everything. If you’re not 100% convinced they are made without any harmful ingredients – do not purchase from them.
  (On a side note, as a graphic designer we once worked for a wholesale meat distributor who is very reputable – when I asked about possible additives (because I was already naturally curious) in a friendly way… The co-owner said they do have some, because “they have to”. And when I asked him if he gives his cold cuts to his kids – he came out and said : No! (he gave them some but certain types of meats he never brought home).