A Franco-American study estimates that consuming deli meats increases the risk of developing chronic and inflammatory bronchial disease. However, this risk would be increased if you consume cold cuts at least once a week.
Researchers from Inserm and the Harvard School of Public Health (USA) collaborated on a study published in the journal EClinicalMedicine in September 2019. This research links the consumption of deli meats to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , a chronic, inflammatory disease of the bronchi affecting approximately 250 million people worldwide.
This disease is characterized by progressive narrowing and permanent obstruction of the airways and lungs, causing difficulty in breathing. It should be remembered in passing that COPD has recently been linked to the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic due to the fragility of certain patients. If this disease is mainly caused by smoking , the leaders of the study believe that the consumption of deli meats could be a secondary factor.
It is actually about several epidemiological studies carried out in the United States:the Nurses’ Health Study (NHSI and NHSII) and the Health Professional Follow-up Study (HPFS). These have pinpointed a large number of risk factors for various diseases. The part concerning the consumption of charcuterie is found in the NHSII study. The latter relates to the follow-up of 87,000 nurses aged 36 on average over a 26-year period.
According to the results, consuming deli meats at least once a week is associated with a 29% increase in risk to develop COPD. Moreover, the researchers have no doubts about these results because they include a large number of socio-demographic and lifestyle factors.
Researchers admit it:the biological mechanisms allowing this increase in risk remain unknown. However, there are some assumptions. Examples include nitrosamines , a family of extremely dangerous chemical compounds. These can form due to the presence of nitrites whose purpose is to preserve and color the cold cuts.
In the event of oxidative stress, these compounds can induce nitrosating stress. This is itself a source of an increase in the presence of nitric oxide and its metabolites. Unfortunately, this phenomenon facilitates the appearance of certain diseases chronic inflammatory conditions such as COPD.
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