Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar and increased risk of complications, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease and loss of vision and hearing. Cold cuts are processed meats and cheeses that contain unhealthy substances, such as sodium and saturated fat, which can increase your risk of diabetes and complications. Consult your doctor about your health and diet and the risks of eating cold cuts.
Increased Risk of Developing Diabetes
Eating cold cuts regularly can increase your risk for developing diabetes. Research by scientists at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California, and published in the "Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism" in 2008 studied the relationship between processed meat intake and diabetes and discovered that weekly consumers of all types of meat are 29 percent more likely to develop diabetes and consumers of any processed meat are 38 percent more likely to develop diabetes, than individuals who do not eat processed meat. The scientists also found that long-term adherence to eating processed meats weekly is associated with a 74 percent increase in risk of developing diabetes compared with long-term adherence to a vegetarian diet.
Nitrosamines and Alzheimer's Disease
Nitrosamines are chemicals associated with preservatives used in processed meats, such as cold cuts. Eating foods with nitrosamines increases your risk of insulin resistance diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Research by scientists at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and published in the "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease" in 2009 reports that human exposure to nitrosamine compounds that are present in processed foods contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
Sodium and Kidney Disease
Cold cuts, such as salami, bologna, liverwurst, turkey breast, pastrami, cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese, may contain high amounts of sodium salt. Increasing your sodium intake can increase your risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Diabetics who increase sodium may not only increase the risk of hypertension and stroke but may also increase the risk of kidney failure. Research by scientists at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and published in "Diabetes Care" in 2011 discovered that sodium is independently associated with all causes of death and end-stage kidney disease in patients with type 1 diabetes.
Saturated Fat and Cardiovascular Disease
Cold cuts also contain saturated fat, an unhealthy fat that can elevate your blood levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol and increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Eating saturated fat reduces the anti-inflammatory potential of HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol, and impairs the function of the endothelial cells that line the interior of the arteries, increasing your risk of atherosclerosis, according to research by scientists at The Heart Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, and published in the "Journal of the American College of Cardiology" in 2006. Diabetics who eat saturated fat may increase the risk of dying from heart disease, the cause of death for more than two-thirds of people with diabetes.
References
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse; Diabetes; 2010
- American Diabetes Association; Complications; 2010
- "Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism"; Meats, Processed Meats, Obesity, Weight Gain and Occurrence of Diabetes Among Adults: Findings from Adventist Health Studies; Arnold Vang, et al.; 2008
- "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease"; Nitrosamine Exposure Causes Insulin Resistance Diseases: Relevance to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, and Alzheimer's Disease; Ming Tong, et al.; 2009
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Sodium: The Facts; 2010
- "Diabetes Care"; The Association Between Dietary Sodium Intake, ESRD, and All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes; M.C. Thomas, et al.; Feb. 9, 2011
