Which cold cuts & how much must we eat?
Could we eat cold cuts even when following a particular diet? if yes which & how much?
Very often cold cuts represent a rapid & quick solution to a meal, but unfortunately an elevated consumption of this food has increased drastically the amount of fat that we assume, they are infact very rich in fat & especially salyìt, hence we must take into consideration these two elements if we really do not want to do without.
Normally we do not reccomend cold cut consumption,, but if you really like them & don’t want to do without than at least try to limit the consumption to once a week and not more than 100g, recent researches on cancer have unfortunately inserted them in the harmful foods list, therefore we must be very careful to what we put in our plates, & absolutely avoid:
- salami
- mortadella
- all types of sausages
These are mainly made out from a mixture of meat, fat, aromas & preserved additives from animals’ guts or even synthetic. Their fat content is very elevated & made mostly from SATURATED fat, that are even more harmful for our health, the same goes for sausages made from white meat (chichken, turkey), they are mixtures rich in preservatives, salt & fat. The fat contained in these foods helps the development of water retention & naturally of CELLULITIS. We must also read the labels very carefully & make sure that they are no hidden sugars added, starch & polyphosphates. The polyphosphates obstruct the correct absorption of minerals, especially calcium & iron.
The following are not considered as preserved meats (cold cuts), BRESAOLA, PROSCIUTTO (raw ham or parma ham) & SMOKED HAM, these can in some way represent a valid alternative together with white meat cuts such as; chichken & turkey.
PROSCIUTTO (Parma ham or raw ham)
This is by far the best choice, it is produced from the pigs’ thighs, undergoes seasoning & salting, has a very high protein value, every 100g contains about 28g of protein. The sweeter qualities have less salt used so they are preferred to the others, and in order to be correct & true we must mention the San Daniele & Parma ham varieties who by law must not contain preservatives, hence are the only valid & healthy choice. Furthermore the prosciutto is rich in TYROSINE, an aminoacid that acts on our brain improving our mood & reducing the risk of nervous hunger.
BRESAOLA
Bresaola is the richest in protein, infact 100g gives us about 31g of protein & it has a lower fat content by 2%, therefore it is definitely the best cold cut for who is on diet. It obviously still contains sodium, but we can just pair it to draining foods like, pineapple or oranges, & drink a lot of water to release the excessive salt. We must pay a lot of attention to the origin of the meat because lately they have found a lot of bresaola made from brazilian ZEBU’ and not beef, therefore pay attention & read the labels carefully.
CHICHKEN & TURKEY CUTS
Without any doubt the chichken & turkey cuts are the leanest, they have very little calories (approx 110 per 100g) & their fat content does not exceed 4%, furthermore they have almost only half the sodium content than the other cuts, hence we can use them without any problem but always respecting the weekly meat provision. Even here we must check origin & preservative content, biological produce should be preferred.
Anyway by limiting the use & pairing correctly we do not need to remove completely all cold cuts, but we must pair them with plenty of fresh raw vegetables, especially salads & green or red leaf vegetables, which are rich in anti-oxidants, contrast the presence of nitrates caused by preservation. Moreover dressing them with abbundant lemon helps the removal of the salt through urine.
Take a look at our tried and tested method: Anti-Diet
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