[FloridaShrimp]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

Food for thought re nitrites and msg in processed meats.....

What is "processed meat" exactly?
Here's the difference:

Fresh meat usually has only one ingredient: The meat! Fresh meat is refrigerated and has a very short shelf life (just a few days, usually). It's usually packaged in simple wrappers, with no fancy logos or color printing.

Processed meat has many ingredients and is usually packaged for long-term shelf life. These products almost always contain sodium nitrite, the cancer-causing chemical additive that meat companies use as a color fixer to turn their meat products a bright red "fresh-looking" color. Processed meat products include:

* Bacon * Sausage * Pepperoni * Beef jerky * Deli slices * Hot dogs * Sandwich meat (including those served at restaurants) * Ham * Meat "gift" products like Christmas sausages * Meat used in canned soups * Meat used in frozen pizza * Meat used in kid's lunch products * Meat used in ravioli, spaghetti or Italian pasta products, etc.

Unless it says "NITRITE FREE" on the front label, you can bet it's made with cancer-causing sodium nitrite!,

(Hint: You will only find nitrite-free meat products in two places in the grocery store: 1) In the fresh meat section where you can buy freshly-ground hamburger, for example, and 2) In the freezer, where you can find "natural" meat products that are nitrite-free.

What are the dangerous chemicals in processed meats? Sodium nitrite is one of the most dangerous chemicals added to processed meats. Please be aware:

* You MUST read the ingredients list to find the sodium nitrite! Meat product companies do not list this ingredient on the front of the package.

* Even ORGANIC meat products and NATURAL meat products can still contain sodium nitrite. So read the labels to be sure, and avoid buying any meat product made with sodium nitrite.

* Be especially careful of food for kids! Virtually all packaged food products containing meat and marketed to children contain sodium nitrite! (Read the ingredients to protect your children.)

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a second dangerous chemical found in virtually all processed meat products. MSG is a dangerous excitotoxin linked to neurological disorders such as migraine headaches, Alzheimer's disease, loss of appetite control, obesity and many other serious health conditions. Manufacturers use MSG to add flavor to dead-tasting processed meat products.

Essentially, dead meat products look and taste dead (because they are), so meat companies use the following three ingredients to make them look fresh and taste interesting:

Sodium nitrite makes the meat look red and fresh. (But it promotes cancer.)

MSG makes the meat taste savory. (But it causes neurological disorders.)

Processed salt makes the meat taste more interesting. (But it causes nutritional problems and high blood pressure.)

On top of these three chemical additives, processed meats also contain saturated animal fat that is often contaminated with PCBs, heavy metals, pesticide residues and other dangerous substances.

Protect yourself and your family. Processed meats promote cancer. There is simply no question about the scientific validity of that statement, and anyone who disagrees with it is either working for the meat industry or hopelessly behind the times on their nutritional research.

The processed meat industry, of course, insists that processed meat is perfectly healthy and that you can eat all you want. It's no surprise, of course: Big Tobacco insisted that cigarettes aren't really bad for your health and that nicotine isn't addictive, either. No industry is really willing to admit that its products are hazardous .

I make it real simple- I don't eat meat, mammals, that is. Occasional organic chicken if I have to and I do give in for some turkey at Thanksgiving. I would prefer to give it all up and be a true pescatarian. That takes the worry out of wondering if my meat is safe.