What will happen to your body if you eat one sausage a day? Is it okay to eat a sausage that costs 2 yuan?

"Give me a sausage, thank you!"

Image source: pexels

Have you ever eaten street grilled sausages? Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a strong aroma of fat, grilled sausages are more attractive than ordinary ham sausages, and they are also really delicious!
In the eyes of most people, grilled sausages are not considered healthy food. Some people even say that grilled sausages are made of starch, the meat in grilled sausages is not "real meat", and the grilled sausages are not clean. So what is in a grilled sausage? What effects will eating a grilled sausage every day have on the body? In this article, we will talk about eating grilled sausages.

What's in the sausage?

The sausages are fragrant and colorful, some are golden yellow, some are red. When you bite them, you can see big chunks of meat, and some are juicy and oily.

Image source: pixabay

The implementation standard for most grilled sausage products on the market is "SB/T 10279-2017 Smoked and Cooked Sausage". According to this standard, let's "dissect" a grilled sausage to see what's inside.

-Meat: According to the requirements of the standard, the raw materials for making grilled sausages are fresh (frozen) livestock and poultry products or aquatic products, that is, pork, beef, chicken, duck, fish and shrimp, etc. If you buy grilled sausages online, you can look at the product ingredient list to know what kind of meat it is. Some products will directly mark the meat content.

Figure: E-commerce platform

As for the street-side grilled sausages, we buy them without packaging. Although we cannot know what specific meat is and how much meat it contains, we can make a rough judgment based on the price and color of the sausages.

An organization randomly sampled five different types of grilled sausages at scenic spots, night markets, convenience stores, and school gates in a certain place, with prices ranging from 2 to 10 yuan. The sausages were tested and the results showed that the meat content of the more expensive sausages was not low .

The 10 yuan/stick grilled sausage is mainly pork, with a meat content of >45%, and the highest pork content is as high as 77%;

The grilled sausage, which costs 5 yuan per piece, is mainly made of chicken, with a meat content of 48%.

The meat content of grilled sausages that cost 2 to 3 yuan per piece is relatively low, only about 15%.

It is true that "you get what you pay for". In terms of the color of the sausage, the 2-3 yuan sausage is thin and long, with a reddish color. The bright color is because of the addition of red yeast rice, allura red and other pigments.

-Starch: Starch can enhance gel strength, improve organizational structure, enhance water retention, increase yield, reduce production costs, and prevent oil and water seepage in meat products, thereby improving product quality.

But grilled sausages are not all starch as rumored, some grilled sausages have very low starch content. According to "SB/T 10279-2017 Smoked and Cooked Sausages", grilled sausages can be divided into 4 grades, including special grade, superior grade, ordinary grade, and starch-free grade. Among them, the starch content of special grade, superior grade and starch-free grade is very low, not exceeding 4%, and only the starch content of ordinary grade is relatively high, reaching 10%.

Figure: SB/T 10279-2017

-Oil, salt and sugar: mainly to enhance the taste and make you fall in love with eating grilled sausages. Salt and sugar can also play a certain role in preservation and extend the shelf life.

-Food additives: There are many food additives that may be used in grilled sausages, such as soy protein, nitrite, compound moisture retainer, pigment, flavor, etc.

Soy protein is a plant protein and also a high-quality protein. Adding soy protein to grilled sausages can improve the gelling and water holding properties of the product, better retaining water and fat. While reducing the amount of meat added and the cost, it can also improve the quality of grilled sausages and enhance the taste.

Figure: E-commerce platform

As for nitrite, some people may be "afraid" of it, but there is no need to worry too much. The ham, grilled sausage, and Chinese sausage we usually eat almost all contain nitrite. In addition to protecting the color of meat products, nitrite also has a certain inhibitory effect on the reproduction of microorganisms, especially Clostridium botulinum. In food production, as long as it is used in accordance with the provisions of "GB 2760-2014 Food Additives Usage Standard", there will be no problem.

What happens if you eat 1 sausage every day?

Such delicious grilled sausage, I can't help but want to eat one when I see it. After all, grilled sausage is a processed meat product, if you eat one every day, it may not be very healthy!

-May make you gain weight: Don't underestimate grilled sausages, they are high-energy and high-fat foods. For example, the nutritional composition table of a certain brand of grilled sausage that is quite popular on e-commerce platforms shows that the fat content is as high as 20.3g/100g, which is more than 3 times that of lean pork, and the calorie content is 273kcal/100g. Eating one grilled sausage (about 50g) is not low in calories, which is equivalent to a small bowl of steamed rice. It takes 20 minutes of running to burn it off.

Figure: E-commerce platform

If you don't control your diet, don't increase your exercise, and eat a sausage in addition to your three meals a day, you will really get fat.

- Not good for blood pressure: The sodium content in most grilled sausages is not low, generally around 700mg/100g, and some are as high as 1000mg/100g. Eating one grilled sausage (about 50g) will ingest 500mg/100g of sodium, which is equivalent to 1.25g of salt.

Figure: E-commerce platform

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that the daily salt intake of each person should be controlled within 5g. If you eat one grilled sausage every day, it will make the task of controlling salt intake throughout the day more difficult and it is easy to exceed the salt limit. A high-salt diet is not conducive to blood pressure control and increases the risk of hypertension and gastritis.

-May affect life expectancy: You wouldn't believe it, eating grilled sausages can actually affect life expectancy! A study published in the American journal Natural Foods in 2021 showed that every gram of processed meat shortens human life by 0.45 minutes, and every gram of fruit adds 0.1 minutes of life. The 61g of processed meat in a hot dog will cause a loss of 27 minutes of healthy life expectancy, and when taking into account ingredients such as sodium and trans fatty acids, it will ultimately lead to a reduction of 36 minutes in life expectancy.

The "61g of processed meat in hot dogs" mentioned in the study is the grilled sausages we eat. So, if you want to live longer, don't be too fond of grilled sausages!

- Increased risk of cancer: Grilled meat products produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are a type of carcinogen. In addition, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization listed processed meat products such as bacon, sausage, and ham as Class 1 carcinogens as early as 2015, indicating that there is sufficient evidence that processed meat products are carcinogenic to humans, and grilled sausages are also processed meat products.

IARC concluded that every 50g of processed meat consumed per day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%, and the risk increases with the amount of meat consumed.

Eat grilled sausage healthily, do this

Although we know that eating grilled sausages often is unhealthy, many friends just can't stop eating them! Don't worry, if you really like it, don't hold back. If you want to eat healthier, follow the suggestions below.

① Read the product label: First, you should buy sausages produced by regular manufacturers. Secondly, pay attention to the ingredient list and the information on the packaging. Choose the one with a higher meat content, and give priority to the special, premium, and starch-free products. At the same time, you should also pay attention to the nutritional information table. Choosing one with a relatively low fat and sodium content will be healthier.

Figure: E-commerce platform

② Don’t buy too cheap street grilled sausages: Many street grilled sausages have no packaging and you don’t know the specific ingredients. Cheap, bright red and long grilled sausages are mostly chicken with low meat content; if they are not from regular stalls, they may also be from unknown sources and have no quality assurance. It is best to avoid such grilled sausages.

③ Eat them together: When eating grilled sausages, it is best to arrange healthy "sausage pairs", such as fresh fruits and vegetables and soy products.

Dark-colored fruits and vegetables are preferred because they contain more antioxidants, such as anthocyanins in blueberries and purple cabbage, carotene in mangoes, carrots and pumpkins, and lycopene in guava, tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, which have anti-inflammatory effects. Fruits and vegetables also contain vitamin C, calcium, chlorophyll and polyphenols, which can inhibit the formation of N-nitroso compounds or other carcinogens, and play an important role in preventing cancer.

Image source: pexels

The fat and cholesterol content of grilled sausages may be high, and excessive intake will affect blood lipid health. Increasing the intake of soy products and replacing part of meat with them can significantly reduce total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. The soy protein contained in beans can also form protein complementation with the animal protein in meat, improving protein absorption and utilization.

In addition, if you eat grilled sausages during the day, it is recommended to reduce the intake of other livestock and poultry meat and have a balanced diet.

Summarize:

Although eating one grilled sausage a day is satisfying, it is not good for your health. So, be more careful! Do you like grilled sausages? How often do you eat them?

References

[1]https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TbBgIjEyjdQOaDcSzJlHuQ

[2] Ding Ling, Zhang Lifen, Lai Shaojuan, Chen Fusheng. Research on the application of plant protein in meat products[J]. Food Research and Development, 2021, 42(4): 193-197

[3] Sun Changhao. Nutrition and Food Hygiene. 8th edition. People's Medical Publishing House. 2018

[4]Stylianou, Katerina S et al. “Small targeted dietary changes can yield substantial gains for human health and the environment.” Nature food vol. 2,8 (2021): 616-627. doi:10.1038/s43016-021-00343-4

[5]https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_113_01.html

[6] Scientific Research Report on Chinese Dietary Guidelines 2021

Planning and production

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutritionist, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Yinuo

Editor | Yinuo