# Ham, Spam, cured meats, -are they bad for IBS?



## jane93 (Jan 21, 2000)

OK so I hate SPAM, but I grew up eating it. Let me tell you Spam and picallilli sandwiches on white bread were a staple of my youth. I wonder if this has a relationship to my IBS?I was just wondering if anyone knows if nitrates in ham are bad for you. Maybe they are bad for bacteria in the gut? I suspect there's some research out there. Its the one red meat I really have a hard time giving up and you don't hear much talk about ham.


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## jane93 (Jan 21, 2000)

?


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Jane:I really don't know if nitrates are bad for IBS, although for years I've heard it said nitrates are not so good for us.I love ham but don't it eat too often because of the high salt content. I retain water really easily, and the older I get the more careful I have to be about it. The ham doesn't bother my IBS.Hope this helps!







JeanG


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## squonk (Oct 12, 1999)

why don't you try some SPAM and eggs, or eggs and SPAM...


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

HI JANE>I was on my way off the board to go stock up the hurricane supply closet (it's that magic time of year here in South Florida again) when my eayes popped-out at the question.How appropriate and perfect for this board. So I won't beat about the old bush as I am wont to do sometimes...just get to it.POTASIUM NITRATES AND NITRITESIn sensitive individuals can cause a varietty of reactions, but most disturbing is that these substances produce nitrosamines during digestion which are carcinogens. Because of this the FDA some time ago "encouraged" manufacturers to include antioxidants such as Vit. C and E in any processed food containing these substances.Some processed meats, especially sausage-type luncheon meats, also contain tyramine which is a powerful "pressor amine" which can affect the body in various ways.Some processed meats are also expanded with binders made from "casein", a milk-fraction, under various names like sodium caseinate, potassium caseinate, etc. which is not god for one sensitive to the casein in milk products.Not to mention whatever artificial colorings are added or other chemicals are added to a particular product.I suggest the 3P rule be followed be everyone whenever possible, especially symptom-sets like IBS: Processed, Packaged, Poison.--------Have a DFD!MNL(I do not like green eggs and Spam, I do not like them, Sam I Am!)[This message has been edited by Mike NoLomotil (edited 08-27-2000).]


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2000)

Hi Mike Nolomotil, this question is not an IBS one sorry.I am thinking to move to South Florida how is the weather the rest of the year, does Florida get lots of tornadoes?


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

HI AJ!No, but sometimes folks named Andrew come to visit. I e-mailed you some info. If you do not get it e-mail me and I will send again.C'mon Down! The waters fine, the air is clear, the sun is up...hey! I am OUTTA HERE!MNL


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## zigmissus (May 19, 1999)

Spam is one of the few things I would gladly be forbidden from eating! I do get IBS symptoms from many processed meats--the worst are canned Vienna sausages (gets me every time)and any kind of minced, processed "loaf" like turkey or ham. Cheap hot dogs are a trigger, although I find I can eat all-beef Kosher franks. I'm also fine with meats such as ham or bacon, but I rarely eat them, as they don't appeal to me. You mentioned "picallillis"--are these pickles? If so, that could be the problem. Eating any kind of pickles--even a bit of relish--makes my intestines feel like I've consumed ground glass!


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## jane93 (Jan 21, 2000)

Now I have a reason not to eat ham thanks MNLPicalilli is a (british) yellow pickle relish that tastes as bad as it sounds. I haven't eaten it in years.*I will not eat spam here or there I will not eat it anywhere.*[This message has been edited by jane93 (edited 08-28-2000).]


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## stinky too (May 21, 1999)

I have to add my bit of knowledge here. I do not buy any of those canned meats anymore. A friend of ours is a truck driver, he delievers and picks up at a meat processing plant here in the nearby area. He was telling once that he saw then take meat that was so rotten that it stuck to the deck floor. They just took a fork lift and loaded it into a cooker. He ask how they could cook and sell such rotten meat. They said that they cook it at over 400 degrees which would kill all the bacteria etc.............




























Really!------------------Prayer doesn't change God , it changes the one who prays..C type, with G[This message has been edited by Joycein OH (edited 08-28-2000).]


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## jane93 (Jan 21, 2000)

I wish I had read this before I ate half a corn dog at the fair yesterday. I'm pretty much trapped in my house today


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## JennT (Jul 17, 2000)

This is interesting... I don't eat SPAm or ham yet... my GI/Dietician has not cleared me to try beef or pork. But I have tried lunch meats and such made from turkey, and here's the answer for me, anyway...High-quality lunch meats (Boar's Head brand turkey or chicken, by preference) are fine, except the "Italian Recipe", which is coated in Parmesan cheese. There are nitrates in these, but very little, in comparison to other brands. This may be why they cost upwards of $8/pound. It's a good thing I only eat a slice or two at a time... I couldn't afford it otherwise!Cheap lunch meats (such as anything that is pressed meat... any of the stuff you find in the area of the store that is NOT the deli or the butcher shop, or is in the deli at not-so-upscale stores) is bad for me, and turkey jerky is the nastiest of the bunch (more's the pity... I LOVE Oberto Teriyaki Turkey Jerky). But then a lot of people can't eat dried fruit, which I have no problem with, as long as I dried it myself and know what's in it.I got to have peanut butter this weekend!-JennT


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## jane93 (Jan 21, 2000)

So that would suggest that deli meat is fine? I don't eat the canned stuff anymore..but if I pay $6 - $8 a pound from a store that bakes their own ham and turkey is it OK?I know that at least the ham must have nitrates in for curing?


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Jane:If I buy any kind of lunch meat I get the Whole Foods nitrate free meats. They are a little more expensive, but I don't mind paying the extra.I do also buy regular canned corned beef, but don't eat it on a regular basis.







JeanG


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## JennT (Jul 17, 2000)

Well, high-quality deli meat is fine for *me*, at least in the small amounts (1-2 slices) I eat them (and only chicken or turkey for me, as well). I can't say for you... you may have a stronger reaction to nitrates or any of the dozen other things in even the good stuff that I do.-JennT


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

JANE: I just saw your post from 11:22 am I did a major LOL! 2 people cam to my officee to see what was so funny. I am still laughing.JOYCE:When I was in college I worked in a small meat processing plant for awhile and that story you were told is the tip of the iceberg. What goes into the "dogs and sausages" would gag a maggot. We used to shovel the renderings up off the dirty floor cutting floor, and drop them into these big stainles steel carts, then add whatever sack of chemicals was proscribed for the type of "dog or sausage", then shovel it straight into the grinder...then the casing machine...then cook or cure (smoke)it. The stuff he saw in the cooker probably was made into such canned delights as Vienna Sausages or(read label)..."potted meat product" or added into the dogs as "processed chicken" etc. Oh I cannot get started on the horrors of that plant. I finally got so grossed out I quit to go finish working my way through college in someplace that was a LOT CLEANER...a MACHINE SHOP!MNL[This message has been edited by Mike NoLomotil (edited 08-28-2000).]


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## zigmissus (May 19, 1999)

Joycein's post is really scary, because cooking the meat to 400 degrees may kill all the bacteria, but bacteria isn't what gives you food poisoning, it's TOXINS produced by the bacteria. Once they're in there, no amount of heat will inactivate them. Don't they have food inspectors in these places?


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

The meat and egg plants have been virtually self-regulated...since the Dawn of Time. A recent effort to tighten standards for salmonella content in ground beef being sent to SCHOOLS to be FED TO OUR CHILDREN practically caused a MEAT REBELLION! I made some posts about this over on the ARTICLES BOARD that are in their simplicity instructive about the simplicity of meat industry regulation. Sort of the meat-version of the military policy towards gays in the service. Don't talk, Don't see, don't tell, and it thus does not exist. Which is fine in the military and the context of sexual predisposition...but not when people can be poisened, especially my kids and yours.


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## SigKnee (Dec 15, 1999)

Believe me, I just had ham & eggs & hashbrowns for breakfast and I can attest to the fact that they really can cause a major attack on the D. I am at work and I feel I am going to die the pain is unbearable and I have to keep going to the restroom over and over. Bad Day.......


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

Another "Waffle-House Related" Incident! They really need more than (1) toilet in those places.


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## wanderingstar (Dec 1, 1999)

I get ham from my local village shop (yes, there are stills some around... Blair hasn't massacred ALL the small shop owners round here) and it's from nice happy and heathly piggies, and it doesn't give me any problems what so ever. I find it's the most digestible meat.And shouldn't that be GREEN eggs and ham/spam?!!


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## stinky too (May 21, 1999)

It is not just the meat processing plants it is everything canned. I worked in tomato cannery where the best tomatoes went into the whole tomatoes. What they made the juice out of you would not want to know. More maggots than tomatoes..My cousin worked at the mmm,mmm good place. When the Feds were around inspecting they threw all the rotten veggies in the trash. Soon as the Feds left the area they threw the trash into the soup. I guess that is why theysay eat fresh or frozen.zigmissus, if it is the toxins that are harmful then I wonder of the *Pro-M]/b] really would help with the gas smell some of us have. They told me it would neutralizes the toxins that cause odor.But it is made from mushroom so wonder how soon that would wind us causing problems???------------------Prayer doesn't change God , it changes the one who prays..C type, with G*


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## jane93 (Jan 21, 2000)

I'm never eating anything canned or packaged again..I'm getting queasy just reading this thread!


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## KailuaBeach (Feb 14, 2012)

I know this thread is very old but I want to mention I can eat SPAM all day with no issues, but other processed meat I have issues with. Not sure what is in the other meats that is not in the SPAM. I see different ingredients in most processed meats that are not in SPAM and one of those causes issues for me if I eat too much of it.


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## shadytree (Oct 6, 2017)

Mike NoLomotil said:


> Oh I cannot get started on the horrors of that plant. I finally got so grossed out I quit to go finish working my way through college in someplace that was a LOT CLEANER...a MACHINE SHOP!MNL[This message has been edited by Mike NoLomotil (edited 08-28-2000).]


 Feel free to any old time. I'm curious.


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## shadytree (Oct 6, 2017)

KailuaBeach said:


> , but other processed meat I have issues with. Not sure what is in the other meats that is not in the SPAM.


 I can eat SPAM,but had rather not. I used to love Hillshire turkey sausages,then they changed the preservatives in it. Every time I even ate half of one,I'd hurl within 30 minutes. I found this very strange and did some research. It would appear some of the chemicals they throw in to keep us "safe" can cause nasty GI problems.In their infinite wisdom,this company chose one that po'ed off my GI,so we parted ways.









I just don't eat processed meats anymore cause I'm afraid they will make me sick.


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