To not have known that deli chicken is a level 1 carcinogen

My DH won't eat red meat. I love an occassional bacon sarnie he delights in telling me of the latest study showing I'll die of cancer. (2 rashers a week!!) I just tell him I'd rather die than live without bacon and any other red meat for that matter.

When my husband was young he worked in a small factory that produced detergents. He told me they added salt ( the stuff we put on our food) to thicken the detergent. They must have moved on a bit since then.
As I understand it cancer is caused by 'Free radicals' over which we don't have much control.
'Free radicals are highly reactive and unstable molecules that are made by the body naturally as a byproduct of normal metabolism. Free radicals can also be made by the body after exposure to toxins in the environment such as tobacco smoke and ultraviolet (UV) light.23 Oct 2022'

HahahAHaaha

I grew up on garlic sausage sandwiches and smoked polish sausage. I hope to make it to 51

I had packet ham with salted tomatoes on buttered white bread as my lunchtime sandwich today. It was delicious.

I had a dietician appointment due to various medical factors including the need to eat very low fat foods. She was pushing a Diabetes agenda with recipes that were so high in fat! My own recipes were healthier than her suggestions.

My main reason for seeing her was trying to work out what to eat for lunch that wasn't processed meat or cheese. She didn't have any ideas that weren't high in fat!

So... I've been working out my own sandwich fillings.

Prawns with low fat cream cheese.
Tuna or salmon with sweetcorn. Mayo optional.
Cucumber.
Avocado mashed with lemon juice, smoked paprika and cut up cherry tomatoes.
Mashed egg and cress with optional mayo or salad cream.
Hummus and cucumber.

I do still succumb to lean ham, sliced chicken, cheese, and smoked salmon but try to limit how much I eat them each week. I also try to make the sandwich more about salad or chutney than the protein. On bad days I just have homemade jam!

This.

A busybody at work was telling me once that I shouldn't feed my kids rice because it contains arsenic.

I looked it up and you'd have to eat around 20 servings a day to get a toxic amount of arsenic. Your stomach would explode first ffs.

(Also... I'm originally from a country where we all eat rice, from babies to old people, 3x a day, and always have done for thousands of years. She knows where I'm from so it was arguably a bit offensive of her too.)

@Quodraceratops

Did you quote the wrong post??

I said I know it's high in salt. I didn't say anything about it being natural or unprocessed? I didn't say it was good for you??

I can't actually see how your post relates to mine at all.

Yes, there are cheaper alternatives if you have the expertise and the knowledge to use them. But many people do not have this expertise or knowledge.
Many of the young women I have met would not have a clue what to do with a tin of chickpeas, stewing steak or quark - because their parents did not know either and there is nowhere to learn these skills anymore.
Many such women have their eyes opened when they decide to slim and join a commercial slimming group that publishes recipes - and then they learn how to cook.
If you can't cook you are pretty much stuck with processed foods.
Also, if you have a low income it is taste that matters with food - not how healthy it is. Food and TV and cigarettes may be the only joys you have.

Salt is a major problem in our diet - causes high BP which is a huge risk factor for stroke & heart disease. Just because something is natural or unprocessed doesn't mean it's good for you!

As I understand it, there are 3 levels. Definitely causes cancer, might cause cancer, and definitely does not cause cancer. You then need to choke this with quantities, as you mention, but also consider the increase in risk associated.

Take bacon. Apparently definitely causes cancer, but you have to eat at least 100g a day, every day. IIRC, it increases your risk of a specific cancer by about 60%, which sounds like a lot, except without it the risk is 2%, so a 60% increase only takes it to just over 3%. I'd suggest that's still within the risk appetite for many people...

I just cannot be arsed to worry about this. I know a diet high in processed meats isn't great for you. But I'm going to assume that a bit of "packet" ham or chicken on a small sandwich a few times a week is not the end of the world, alongside a balanced-ish diet.

There's no way I have the time or inclination to cook fresh chicken or make my own sesame-free hummus for school lunches!!

I am sorry but you are incorrect. Nobody is forced to eat this chicken. There are far better, healthier and cheaper protein sources out there. No disparagement here - I have been that person on the breadline before. If I couldn’t afford half decent quality meats then I simply wouldn’t buy them.

Some people can only afford this chicken. I am happy for you to feed it to your dog (I feed cooked chicken to mine with his dry food) but disparaging it is disparaging those who have no choice but to eat it.

Why is hummus banned? It is just chickpeas and tahini basically. If they don’t want the sesame seed element from the tahini you can make it with the chickpea water from the can.

I bloody love sausages. I’m not giving them up. Sausage and mash, food of the gods.

How do you know?

Have you interviewed them?

Agree. If everything is so bad for us, how come we are living longer? I take it all with a pinch of monosodium glutamate.

I think they're talking about the sliced chicken you can buy in packets usually next to the ham packets

I don't even know what level 1 carcinogen means. Is it good?

Showing my age now but I remember the deli where they had huge big hams and massive breasts of chicken and you pointed to the one you wanted and they cut some slices off it. I'd say they cooked them off site. That wouldn't count as processed or would it? Are sausages bad. Ds has sausages for breakfast nearly every day. I try to buy best quality I can afford tho

What's wrong with hummus? My kids are older now but I feel your pain. My dd literally hated sandwiches of all types !!!

Because they don't eat veg when they're younger.