A Letter To The Man
photo by archaeology and anthropology
To: The Man
We’ve been through a lot together. Remember that time we fell in love with the girl at the restaurant? Remember your wedding day? Ah, good times.
But there were also some not-so-good times. Remember when I used to feel fluttery for no reason at all? That wasn’t so fun. It was weird and painful and freaky. Remember?
Things have been good since you started eating healthier. The fluttery feeling inside of me has stopped. (Thank goodness. I was getting motion sickness.) But just to make sure we keep on good terms, I thought I’d pass along a piece of news.
A new study, published in the journal Circulation, found that eating processed meats is associated with an upped risk of diabetes and heart disease. Eating just one serving of the meats per day was linked to a 42 percent increased risk for heart disease and a 19 percent greater risk for diabetes. (And heart disease leads to some bad things, like a heart attack, stroke, or cardiac arrest.)
When I heard this, I thought, “Well, duh.” But then I realized this might come as a shocker to you. So let me put this lightly. Those cheese dogs you love? You’re gonna have to deal without them. Same with bacon. And sausage. And cold cuts, like the balogna you like. (On a side note, I’m pretty shocked you still like that stuff after you and your wife watched it being made on the Food Network. It gave me palpitations.)
I don’t mean to ruin your lunch. But the fact is, I’m the one who’s going to suffer. Do it for me, buddy.
Here’s to many more good times.
Love,
Your Heart
Tracey here. Question for you: Do you eat processed meats? I gave ’em up when I realized the nitrates in them gave me wicked headaches. Bacon still is my weakness.
27 comments
Loved that post… so creative!!
I usually avoid processed meats, but I’ll admit that hotdogs on the grill might be on the menu this week. Yeah, I know. Sooooo bad!!!
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I’m not a huge fan of processed meats. Maybe I might have a hotdog once a year.. but that’s it.
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I am not a huge processed meat fan. Hot dogs gross me out and bologna and bacon, well, yuck. My husband and I watched Food Inc the other night and are now both turned off by meat in general. We are doing more vegetarian meals and trying to eat less meat. My one weakness though, bison burgers. So tasty.
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Tracey Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Heather–Yes, Food Inc. even scared The Man. For a week. One glorious week.
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Love this post! Before I went veg, I only ate hot dogs once in awhile. I could never stand those processed meats and bacon wasn’t high on my list of likes either (call me crazy..lol). Glad you gave them up because those nitrates are brutal. Hopefully The Man takes the plunge!
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tracey Neithercott. Tracey Neithercott said: New post! Another reason to skip processed meat. http://bit.ly/b50V1W [...]
Unfortunately I DO eat processed meat. I’ve been saying for about 6 months that I want to stop, but because of my busy schedule, I’m always eating on the run, therefore hitting up Subway and Tim Hortons for my meals.
I know I should know better, and I do, but it’s like trying to quit smoking; I know it’s bad for me, but it’s so delicious and always there when/if I need it.
Ugh, I need to smarten the hell up!
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Tracey Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 11:19 am
Scott–Eating on the run is tough. That’s when I’m at my most unhealthy, too. Why can’t anyone think of healthy fast food that’s as ubiquitous as McDonald’s?
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Nope, no processed meat for me. I only eat fresh fish….BUT my family eats a small amount of processed meat.Thats something I need to work on.
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Tracey, I love that you framed this topic in the layout of a letter to your husband from his heart. It was so unique and interesting to read!
I have really cut back on the amount of processed meat I eat. I do love hot dogs, bologna, and cold cuts, but I really have become aware that they’re not in love with my body. Or heart. Thanks for reminding me of this once again, because I’ve been having a wicked love affair with the turkey sammy lately!
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Nice post! I also heard about this study. I’m not a big fan of processed meats either (though bacon is tasty sometimes).
The good news: if you just *cannot stop* you can buy meats without nitrates or other preservatives. (Just watch the salt!) Here’s one from Oscar Mayer: http://bit.ly/dbjve8. And good ol’ Whole Paycheck has lots of options…for a price
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Tracey Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Leslie–I did discover great nitrate-free turkey bacon at Whole Foods, and I’m willing to pay more for it. It’s amazing how nitrates give me headaches!
And, yes, bacon is tasty. Most of the time.
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you are a beautiful wife!! i love it!!! such a great role model for me!!!!
for real.
i TRY not to eat processed meats! I need to pay attention to the deli meat i eat. whats a good nitrate free brand?
have a great day!
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Glad you found it! I am willing to pay more, too. And well…I try to hold myself back from the bacon. But you’re right. It’s pretty much good all the time
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I guess I should read the article, but does this hold true for nitrate-free meats? I try and buy without nitrates and no luncheon meat at all! Very interesting…
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Tracey Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Nicole–The effects were from all of the preservatives, including nitrates, salt, etc. Since the study didn’t find the same risks with unprocessed meats, so it’s something in the processing that’s causing the link. (And it’s not just a lifestyle thing since people who eat unprocessed and processed meats both lead similar lifestyles.)
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Score, good news for me. It was short AND I answered my own question. Apologies for my LAZINESS!
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I can’t imagine my husband giving up bacon or sausage (although we buy ours locally and it’s preservative free as far as I know). Good luck
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I must confess…I do sometimes…please don’t judge…but not all the time! And I’ve found a “no nitrates, low sodium” turkey breast one that I like…
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Tracey Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Eat Move Love– Of course I won’t judge! I enjoy bacon as much as the next guy.
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When I used to eat meat I LOVED turkey sandwiches from the deli. I even ate them when I was pregnant, which I wasn’t supposed to do!
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I love a good sandwich, but since I’m reducing my weight, I’m not eating many of those these days. I don’t buy most processed sandwich meat any longer, but not because of nitrates and salt, but because most of them contain HFCS (go figure!) and waaaay too much fat. I do get very thinly sliced Black Forest ham (I love the stuff and so does the fambly) and once every three months or so, we have a hot dog night with Hebrew National kosher all beef dogs as a big treat. They’re costly but worth it — taste as good as hot dogs did when I was a kid, and that’s a long time ago, gang. I’m guessing that freshly cooked, sliced meats wouldn’t be banned from your kitchen? The poor Man has to have SOMETHING…
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Tracey Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Wren–Despite what I write on here, nothing is banned in my house. I don’t wield that much power! I do however, gently try to explain to The Man why a hot dog a day won’t keep the doctor away. I’m still working on that one.
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I do not eat processed meats at all. I never really liked the taste, but then when they started recommending pregnant women avoid them I completely stopped. I’m not pregnant now, but have been a LOT over the years!
I don’t feed them to my children or my husband either. If we go somewhere where they are serving that as lunch fare, we just eat the side dishes!
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I love how creative and unique your posts are!
I don’t eat processed meat. If I did, I would get very sick (because of my digestive condition). Also, the looks and smell of them really gross me out. I think I was somewhat traumatized by some old turkey meat that I found in my mother’s fridge when I was a kid. It looked and smelled scary enough to provoke nightmares. I haven’t gone near the stuff since then. That’s my quirk though. I don’t think there is anything wrong with eating it every now and then, and there are nitrate-free versions available which must be better for you.
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Cute post! I don’t eat meat.
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Processed meats are one of the few things I’m SUPER neurotic about. As a vegetarian I don’t eat meat but for my kids and hubs I’ll go out of my way to buy the nitrate-free, preservative-free, antibiotic and everything else-free lunch meats and hot dogs. Costo actually sells a lot of them so I can get them in bulk. Still though, you should see all the veins pop out on my forehead when someone gives my kids a piece of pepperoni or sausage pizza…
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