Ham and Cheese Sandwich

[PinkOnWednesday]

Would you agree a ham and cheese sandwich is a healthy lunch?

How have we all survived this long...

Can't believe people are actually breaking down a ham and cheese sandwich into it's food group components and declaring it to be so highly processed it's an actual cancer risk.
Just stop it, for fuck's sake

Oh my.
I haven’t even read all the comments properly but this is absolutely batshit. Bravo MNers.
I actually had a ham and smoked cheese roll today. It was so lovely as were the salt and vinegar crips I had with it.
It’s not as healthy as a salad but I’m sure as hell not going to lose any sleep over it. I wouldn’t class it as unhealthy.

Oh, by all means add a "fruit selection" 🤦‍♀️ 😂😂

Ham is carcinogenic but cheese isn't.

@KeepSmiling89

A good classic in my opinion. I'd go light on the cheese though, plenty of ham, maybe a bit of gem lettuce in there and some cherry tomatoes on the side. That's an ideal lunch for me!

And for me personally, I like lots of lettuce /spinach, a bit of chutney, small bit of ham, no cheese.

Cos that's the taste I like. Not about worrying about the health merits excessively.

I'll almost always follow it with some chocolate. No fruit at lunch but yes at other times.

Others might have crisps or different ingredients.

It's all healthy once balanced against an active lifestyle, balanced meals & exercise.

These blanket statements about bread being unhealthy or cheese causing cancer are bonkers!

@NewFactsEmerge

Take out the ham and replace it with marmite. Then take out the cheese and replace it with marmite. Then take out the bread and replace it with a spoon.

Yummmmm

😂😂😂

Fuck. Now I want a Big Mac.

Apparently in the U.K. a Big Mac is only 508 calories so knock yourself out

Dare I ask how bad Branston pickle is for me?

@PhilSwagielka
Well I wasn’t going to comment on this thread but as you asked for links I will oblige following a quick google, as this is something I was interested in confirming too.

Processed meat classed as a group 1 carcinogen by WHO. Meaning there is strong evidence it causes cancer.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2019/04/26/bacon-salami-and-sausages-how-does-processed-meat-cause-cancer-and-how-much-matters/amp/

Academic research here showing dairy milk increases risk of breast cancer. academic.oup.com/ije/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ije/dyaa007/5743492

So the cheese and the ham are 'processed' but the bread isn't??!

Rhubarb.

No.

What a silly question.
My sarnie would be great.

Be careful with that fruit on the side. Don't you know that fruit is (pause for dramatic effect) full of sugar?

Seriously, there is nothing as loopy as a thread on MN that is related in any way to food or diet.

Depends on the type of bread, amount of filling and accompaniments.

It's just normal food! I would suggest that you add some fruit or salad to your sandwich if you want to make it a bit more balanced

If it was me eating it I would take out the ham as I don't eat meat. Add some salad instead , probably some mayo, and eat with a packet of crisps Accompany with a can of Pepsi max

And mid afternoon I'd have tea and cake

When I make a ham sandwich, I use 12-grain bread, nitrate free ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and spicy brown mustard. I consider it reasonably healthy. I think the ingredients of said sandwich matter.

Well...

Yes, its fine.

Its also quite good at winkling out the crazies apparently.

www.acpjournals.org/journal/aim

Here is a more recent independent multinational systematic review published in a reputable journal that concludes that processed meat is fine (although more evidence is needed to support either side more convincingly).

Ok that link hasn't worked - but it's in that journal from last year if interested.

[quote BrokenBrit]@PhilSwagielka
Well I wasn’t going to comment on this thread but as you asked for links I will oblige following a quick google, as this is something I was interested in confirming too.

Processed meat classed as a group 1 carcinogen by WHO. Meaning there is strong evidence it causes cancer.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2019/04/26/bacon-salami-and-sausages-how-does-processed-meat-cause-cancer-and-how-much-matters/amp/

Academic research here showing dairy milk increases risk of breast cancer. academic.oup.com/ije/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ije/dyaa007/5743492[/quote]
This random quoting of 'evidence' is so irritating.

Via the WHO studies, they state:

about 34 000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets high in processed meat.

Key words are the numbers worldwide plus the word high

Going on, the WHO says that by listing a food product as carcinogenic it doesn't mean that they are bracketing it with other carcinogenic products eg tobacco.

They don't make any recommendations on meat eating or not.

Again, it's about balance. Eating a lot of processed & red meat isn't a good idea. Balancing it out with vegetarian, fish & non-red meat options is the way to go.

A bit of nuance needed here.

I wouldn’t say it’s healthy but it isn’t terribly unhealthy either!

@NewFactsEmerge

Take out the ham and replace it with marmite. Then take out the cheese and replace it with marmite. Then take out the bread and replace it with a spoon.

Yummmmm

@NewFactsEmerge , Thanks for the recipe!

Nutritionally, it's similar to a cheese burger and no-one thinks they're healthy.

But many people happily have a ham and/or cheese sandwich for lunch every day and no-one bats an eyelid.

A Big Mac is 508 calories, 43g carbs, 28g fat and 2.3g salt.