If we could only eat one sausage as of today, I am sure that many Spaniards would choose Iberian ham or, in any case, lomo embuchado (cured pork loin). These two are, without a doubt, the processed meats that we have most associated with our gastronomy since we were children. However, it is very likely that they are not the ones you eat most often. There are others that have a milder flavor, that are more economical, that, in general, are more accessible. And, among the latter, York ham stands out.
The name of this product shows that it comes from beyond the Pyrenees, as well as the sandwiches made with it. In any case, this English meat has won a lot of sympathy in Spain. By York ham we refer to those pink slices, sometimes with veins and sometimes without, sometimes irregular and sometimes forming a perfect square. But beware! because for the food legislation of our country, York ham does not exist, but what we are referring to has another name.
In fact, everything we have included as York ham is, in reality, either cooked ham or cold meat. The difference between these two terms is in the quality of the meat, the former being better than the latter. However, both are processed meats and, as such, have been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as potentially carcinogenic foods. In any case, this organization has not asked us to stop eating these meats, but rather to reduce their consumption in order to reduce cancer cases.
The worst hams
Unfortunately, cooked ham fits the WHO’s description of processed meats: red meat – in this case, pork – that is salted and cured to improve its flavor and preservation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conducted a study published in The Lancet Oncology that consisted of a review of up to 800 articles and concluded that each 50-gram serving of processed meat eaten daily raises the risk of cancer by 18%.
In any case, the experts explain that within processed meats there are products and products. In other words, we cannot compare the effect on health of the best quality Iberian ham with that of a Frankfurt sausage. In the same way, neither can we compare the effect of the best cooked hams in the supermarket with cold cuts. The main aspect in which the difference between these two products is observed is the proportion of pork meat contained in each of them.
“York hams which, in reality, are cold cuts have around 55% pork meat and that can come from different cuts of pork, such as the shoulder or what is known as lean pork,” describes this article from EL ESPAÑOL. “What is the other half of the food made of? They usually contain water, starches or potato starches, artificial sugars such as dextrose, glucose syrup or maltodextrin, soy proteins or hemoglobin powder, as well as a long list of additives to preserve them for longer”.
Occasionally
On the other hand, if you choose a cooked ham, the percentage of pork will be close to 70% of its total composition. However, although this is a less bad option, it is not the best you can find in the supermarket. There is the classification of extra cooked ham for those hams with between 80% and 90% meat in their composition, and some can even be found with around 100%. For this reason, it is better to pay attention to this claim or to consult our charcuterie to offer us the best in this regard.
The percentage of meat in these products is so high that other unhealthy ingredients such as starches and sugars appear in much lower proportions, and in some cases even disappear. A good tip, therefore, for buying cooked ham is that it should have the highest possible proportion of pork in its composition. Although this type of ham is much healthier, it is still a processed meat and, therefore, we should limit its consumption. It is not for every day.
Processed meats are specifically related to colorectal cancer. This is one of the most worrying for doctors because it is the one that will be diagnosed the most this year. As explained in the document of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), Las cifras del cáncer en España 2023, at the end of December it is estimated that 42,721 new cases of this cancer will have been detected in our country. This tumor is found in increasingly younger patients: according to this study carried out in the United States, colon cancer has grown by 49% among people between 30 and 39 years of age in that country, and rectal cancer by 133% in patients between 20 and 29 years of age.
