Smoked meats include meat cured with salt, spices and other substances, and then smoked to impart flavor. Examples of smoked meat products include ham, hot dogs, jerky, cold smoked fish, deli meats and bacon. A diet high in cured and smoked meats has been linked to stomach cancer and other painful stomach disorders.
Food-Borne Infections
Sometimes, smoked meat products may contain pathogens that can cause stomach pain and other symptoms if you contract an infection from consuming the tainted meat. One illness that you can catch from eating smoked meat products is listeriosis. Listeriosis is an infection that can result from eating smoked meats such as smoked sea food, hot dogs and deli meats contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Besides stomach pain, listeriosis may also cause fever, chills, headaches, and, in pregnant women, stillbirths. E. coli is another type of food-borne pathogen that can be contracted by eating smoked meat. Although more commonly associated with undercooked ground beef, E. coli outbreaks have also been linked to contaminated smoked meat products such as jerky made from venison and other game meat. E. coli can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and kidney failure.
Stomach Cancer
While most stomach pain isn't caused by cancer, it's important to note that over time, eating a lot of salty and smoked foods such as smoked meats increases your risk of developing stomach cancer, according to MayoClinic.com. Cured meats commonly contain substances called nitrates and nitrites which can be converted by certain bacteria in the stomach into compounds that have caused stomach cancer in animals, according to the American Cancer Society. As a diet low in fruits and vegetables also increases your risk for stomach cancer, eating animal products like smoked meats in favor of healthy plant-based foods may also contribute to the development of stomach cancer. Besides stomach pain, symptoms of stomach cancer may include fatigue, heartburn, indigestion, feeling full after eating a small amount of food, nausea and unexplained weight loss.
Other Conditions
Stomach pain after eating smoked meats may be caused by various other conditions, ranging from simple indigestion to chronic diseases. According to MayoClinic.com, a diet high in foods like smoked meats, which lack fiber and contribute to obesity, may increase your risk of developing diverticulitis, an inflammation of the intestinal tract that can cause severe abdominal pain, tenderness and bleeding from the colon. A diet high in low-fiber, high-fat, high-cholesterol foods like smoked meats may also contribute to gallstones, says MayoClinic.com. You may also develop stomach pain after eating smoked meat due to health disorders unrelated to eating smoked meat. Some of these include appendicitis, Crohn's disease, pancreatitis, lead poisoning, ulcerative colitis.
When to See Doctor
In some cases, stomach pain may require medical treatment. According to MayoClinic.com, you should seek immediate medical attention if your stomach pain is so severe that you need to curl up into a ball for relief. You should also have someone drive you to an urgent care clinic or emergency room if your stomach pain is accompanied by bloody stools, nausea and vomiting, yellowed skin, or severe tenderness or swelling in the belly, notes MayoClinic.com. If you have less-severe stomach pain that worries you or lasts several days, it's a good idea to schedule a doctor's visit. In general, not smoking, limiting foods that include smoked meats, and following a healthy diet that's low in fat, high in fiber, and contains plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables helps promote a healthy digestive system.
References
- American Cancer Society; What are the Risk Factors for Stomach Cancer?; June 2011
- University of Minnesota Extension; Nitrite in Meat; R. Epley, et al.; 1992
- Colorado State University Extension; Food Safety During Pregnancy; J. Dean, et al.; December 2006
- VermontLocalvore.org: Food Recalls in the U.S.
- FoodSafetyNews.com; Seven E. coli O45 Cases Linked to Smoked Meat; January 2011
- The University of Georgia; Curing and Smoking Meats for Home Food Preservation Literature Review and Critical Preservation Points; B. Nummer, et al.; 2002
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