Research
Micronutrients & recovery
The high sodium content in processed meats explains most of the observed increased cardiovascular disease risk compared to unprocessed meats.
Check labels for sodium content. Processed meats have significantly higher sodium levels than unprocessed meats. Reducing processed meat intake is an effective way to lower sodium intake and reduce CVD risk.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Preservatives are the notable difference; the calculated blood-pressure effects of sodium differences (around 400% higher in processed meats) explain most of the observed higher risk.
Why this rating
Based on calculated effects and previous meta-analyses cited, but the primary evidence is observational association.
Source
Processing of meats and cardiovascular risk: time to focus on preservatives
Renata Micha et al. · BMC Medicine · 2013
DOI 10.1186/1741-7015-11-136
narrative_review · n=448568Cited 92×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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