Is our diet that bad?

[lljkk]

We eat processed meats most days (DC like ham sandwiches for lunch & I have higher quality ssg rolls in fridge as snacks or for breakfast; I thought protein was a good thing, 8yo especially difficult eater). Plus we all like sausages & mince.

13yo was told by school that 33% of his diet should be fruit + veg and only 5% sugars+fats (% volume? % Calories? Not sure which). 13yo reckons he eats 20% F+veg & 20% sugar+fat daily. Thing is, 13yo eats a plate heaped with vegies for 90% of his evening meals, and 90% of days he has less than 80g of biscuits (or similar sugary intake). I honestly thought that was less sugar & a lot more veg than usual.

For UK I still think our diet is better than average, maybe much better than average. Lots of wholemeal options, strict about jam/sugar in porridge, fizzy drinks a rather rare treat. Plenty of fruit for those who like fruit. But am I deluded about what is truly healthy enough?

[claig]

'But when we take it all rigt back its only in the last 40 years or so we have eaten meat every day'

The peasants couldn't afford meat often, but royalty and the rich always ate meat and feasted to their hearts' content. Also in the 18th century, the French began to call the English "rosbifs" because of the eay that the English roasted their beef. The well-to-do have always had meat because they knew it was healthy for them. The rations applied to the poor.

[ivykaty44]

farmingfriends.com/edible-parts-of-a-pig/

Take a look at the pig and the ham, which is the back legs of the pig

It makes lovely roast pork

[KobayashiMaru]

notso, if you google fresh ham, it says the same as I have said. I buy it every single week on a monday and I know what I am getting. I have been eating it for decades.

The ham is the top of the leg. It is a cut of pork. You can roast it and call it roast pork, you can turn it into gammon, you can turn it into cured ham, if you just boil it or boil/bake it, it is a fresh ham.

[prettyfly1]

I really hate this stupid study and scaremongering. I dont smoke, barely drink and work out. I do however BLOODY LOVE BACON and will NOT be giving it up. Sooner or later something will kill me, if its my pig addiction then in all honesty its sort of karma for the sheer numbers I killed in pursuit of the perfect sarnie!!!

[ILikeBirds]

I think 'Fresh Ham' is an American term, it's just a pork leg really.

[Jayne266]

I never buy processed meat but my DH does but if I get a take away I guess it has it in.

[pollypandemonium]

Ham is American - like Green Eggs. If it's raw we say pork. Another question - is pork mince the the same as sausagemeat just without the breadcrumbs and seasoning?

[KobayashiMaru]

its not American.

[lookout]

According to the link ivykaty44 provided the leg is actually called the ham, in farming terms!

[pollypandemonium]

Hams up I give in. It's a Ham even if it's raw. I'd just call it a lump of pork.

[lookout]

polly

Seriously though, we, including the kids, eat a fair amount of ham, bacon and sausages and this news has worried me quite a bit. Would that sliced roast chicken stuff you can get be the same thing then?

[pollypandemonium]

I think you need to look at the packet lookout - if there are nitrates and sodium nitrite then it's not a good idea to have too much of it. But the amounts aren't unreasonable, so a packet of ham/chicken per person is OK. 20g per day is not a lot though.

It's a lot cheaper to fry up a couple of chicken breasts and slice them thinly. You can do it in the food processor for that wafer thin effect.

This link is the most informative I have found www.nhs.uk/news/2013/03March/Pages/Diet-high-in-processed-meat-threatens-health.aspx

[Badvoc]

It's processed red meat afaik?
Tbh just buy the best you can...some sausages are 90% meat...

[pollypandemonium]

If the meat is fresh and not 'processed' it's fine - good for you in fact. The definition of 'processed' is a bit ambiguous but generally means 'cured' or 'preserved' as this is involves adding chemicals.

I would like to find sausages that have no nitrites.

[MinginInTheRain]

kobayashi Maru - could I ask how you cook your ham? always wanted to try but can never be bothered but this latest news has tipped me over and can't go near deli again.

[pollypandemonium]

www.blackbacon.com/nitrite.html
Nitrite free bacon

www.graigfarm.co.uk/organic-produce-c1/pork-c4
According to the ingredients list, these are nitrite free sausages.

[lookout]

Thanks polly, will start label reading again I guess. And cooking more

[ILikeBirds]

"What is ham?

Ham is the term used to describe cured and cooked pork. It is generally the hind leg of a pig; shoulder is used too but this is not technically 'ham'. More confusingly, it also refers to cured hind leg that has been air-dried and is usually sliced very thinly and served cold. Both can be smoked or left green after curing"

What is ham

Pork Factsheet

This agrees with what I've always understood ham to be. Only when I lived in the US did I hear uncooked pork referred to as ham

[KobayashiMaru]

I normally just boil it, changing the water a couple of times. Sometimes, if I can be bothered, I bake it afterwards, either with a mustard and brown sugar glaze or honey. It's simple.

[claig]

Found this on nitrites, but it does seem to be tied to a meat lobby of some sort.

www.meatmythcrushers.com/myths/myth-nitrite-in-cured-meat-linked-to-cancer.html

www.meatmythcrushers.com/myths/myth-processed-meat-is-unhealthy-and-should-be-avoided.html

[Floweryhat]

We could all buy one of these, a packet of these and this book and make our own sausages from fresh meat . As a child we had German friends who did this. It was fascinating.

[SonOfAradia]

Make your own sausages with one of these:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_grinder

My mum and dad used to use one of these beasties back in the 60s. Fresh sausage with no cure at all. Bollocks to Prague powder.

[GrumpyKat]

Just to add another chemical to your worries, most sausages you buy in the shops contain sodium metabisulphite. I'm allergic to it, it causes my kidney disease to flare up, along with my arthritis and other auto immune issues,

[SonOfAradia]

along with my arthritis and other auto immune issues,

Ack! Another good reason to avoid. I have psoriatic arthritis.