A new study that has investigated the effects processed meats have on our stomachs found that this meat types are not at all healthy for us. Ham, smoked or cured meat, sausages, salami, bacon, hot dogs etc. intake damage our stomachs and may lead to stomach cancer.

The report was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and the research was carried out by scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. The team investigated 15 previous studies on processed meat and their findings showed that the risk of stomach cancer was increased from 15% to 38% if the processed meats ratio consumed by an individual rose with 30 grams.

"Nobody had carried out this type of analysis into processed meats and stomach cancer. And our results from a mean value show very clearly that there is an association between increased consumption of processed meat products and stomach cancer," said Susanna Larsson, co-author of the study.

Scientists believe that the main causes that make processed meats so harmful for our health relate to the fact that this kind of meats usually contains nitrates or are smoked or salted. These procedures are performed in order to prolong the life of processed meats so they do not alter and last more on the supermarkets' shelves.

"We hope that further studies will clarify the interaction between the consumption of processed meats and other factors, such as other dietary factors and the effects of different bacteria on the incidence of stomach cancer," the Swedish researcher said.