Lung Disease Linked To Cured Meat

Eddie Farah

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You've heard the joke about not wanting to know how laws or lunchmeat are made?

This study is not a joke and will have you thinking twice next time you want to down that ballpark dog.

Before you dismiss it, the study looked at more than 7,300 people from 1988 to 1994.

Researchers from Columbia Medical School found that those who ate the most cured meat had a 20% chance of being diagnosed with an incurable lung disease.

Dr. Rui Jiang theorized that because foods such as bacon, sausage, luncheon meats and hams are high in nitrites -- a preservative and colorizer -- they cause damage to the lungs that resembles emphysema.

Males who smoked and were of a lower socio-econic status were the most likely victims. And yes, they did factor out the smoking element.

They generally had lower intakes of vitamin C, fish and fruits and vegetables. But researchers said the difference based on meat persisted even when they adjusted statistically for those factors.

As they say, more research is needed but these finding are not likely to be due to chance. Food for thought next time your order that ballpark dog. See more in the second April 2007 Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.