Researchers link processed meat consumption with asthma; say could worsen the condition!

New Delhi: The health hazards of consuming processed meat like salami, sausages, ham, are something we keep hearing every other day. Unforunately, that does not change the fact that processed meat consumption is quite high the world over.

Apart from causing diseases like cancer, harm to heart health and raising cholesterol and blood pressure levels, a new study has said that cured meat may also lead to asthma.

Consuming more than four portions a week is a risk, suggests the study of nearly 1,000 French people, published in the journal Thorax.

The research suggests the 5.4million people in the UK who suffer with asthma could be at greater risk of problems if they eat too much cured or processed meat.

Scientists believe the nitrites used to process cured meat may trigger inflammation in the airways – a typical feature of asthma. However, experts say the link has not been proved and more investigations are required to confirm the effects.

After tracking the conditions of 971 subjects, all of whom experience some degree of asthma, who took part in the study, the experts, from Paul Brousse Hospital in Paris came to the conclusion that those who ate the most cured meats were 76 per cent more likely to experience worsening asthma symptoms than those who ate the least.

Being overweight or obese, which has previously been linked to worsening asthma, accounted for just 14 per cent of this association, the calculations showed, thereby suggesting that meat intake was independently linked to symptoms.