Ham is a unique meat product in that there are many different ways it can be processed, packaged and labeled. Grocers stock canned hams and spiral-cut hams, and offer bone-in, boneless, cured, smoked and fresh varieties. That doesn't even begin to mention the different regional varieties such as Smithfield and cuts such as prosciutto. No matter which flavor and type you prefer, they're all great sources of nutrition.
Definition
The USDA requires hams to be labeled to indicate the amount of water retained from processing and the minimum protein content compared with fat content. "Ham" is defined as the cured hind leg of pork that is at least 20.5 percent protein with no added water. "Ham with natural juices" indicates ham that is less than 20.5, but at least 18.5 percent protein. "Ham with water added" means the meat is at least 17 percent protein. "Ham and water product" means that it contains any amount of water. If the product is labeled as "fresh ham," then it is uncured. Turkey ham is cured meat from the thigh of a turkey.
Basic Nutrition
The nutrition information in this article is for a ham with natural juices, but the final section compares it with a ham with water added. The portion size used is 100 grams, which is slightly smaller than a 4 oz. serving. This portion size has 200 calories, with 119 of them coming from fat. Total fat content is 13 grams, or 20 percent of the recommended daily value (DV) for fat. Ham has 22 percent DV of both saturated fat and cholesterol. It's also high in sodium, supplying 35 percent DV. It provides no dietary fiber, but is a good source of protein, with 19.7 grams (39 percent DV).
Vitamins
Ham is a good source of four B vitamins: niacin (32 percent DV), thiamine (17 percent DV), vitamin B6 (15 percent DV) and riboflavin (11 percent DV). It also provides 8 percent DV of vitamin B12, 4 percent DV of pantothenic acid, 2 percent DV of vitamin E and 1 percent DV of vitamin A. This serving size of ham also has 88.1 mg of choline.
Minerals
Quite a few essential minerals are obtained through ham, but it's an especially great source of selenium (51 percent DV), phosphorus (23 percent DV) and zinc (14 percent). It also provides 8 percent of the daily value of potassium and 5 percent for iron, magnesium and copper. It provides small amounts of calcium and manganese (1 percent DV). Ham is high in sodium, with one serving providing 35 percent of the daily value.
Water Added
An equivalent serving size of ham with water added has lower values for almost all nutrients, but for most, it is barely significant because the difference is only 1 to 2 percent of daily value. However, ham with water added is much higher in sodium, jumping from 838 mg to 1069 mg, which is an increase of 10 percent in the daily value. The water-added ham loses 5.7 grams of protein. That's 28 percent DV of protein compared with the 39 percent provided by the ham with natural juices. Additionally, the amount of zinc drops to 9 percent DV.
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