Pork is often the most popular food, with a cult-like following. This can be seen in the 65% of Americans who are eager to call bacon their national food.

However, popularity can come at a price. Pork is not only the most popular meat in the world; it also has some of the most dangerous aspects.

1. Hepatitis E

Offal is a resurgence of nose-to-tail eating. This has helped the liver, which is highly prized for its vitamin-A content and huge mineral list, to regain its popularity among health-conscious people.

Liver could be dangerous when it comes to pork.

The top food source of hepatitis E in developed countries is pork liver. This virus can cause acute illness, which can include fever, fatigue, jaundice, and vomiting. It affects around 20 million people annually.

While most hepatitis E cases are not visible, pregnant women may experience severe reactions, such as fulminant hepatitis (rapid liver failure) or a high chance of maternal and fetal death. Mothers who become infected in the third trimester of pregnancy can expect to die at a rate of 25%.

Hepatitis E infection may cause myocarditis (an inflammatory condition of the heart), acute pancreatitis, neurological problems (including Guillain Barre syndrome and neuralgic disorder), blood disorders, and musculoskeletal problems.

These severe complications of hepatitis E are more common in people with compromised immune systems.

How alarming are pork’s contamination statistics? The American statistics show that approximately 1 in 10 store-bought pork livers test positive for hepatitis E. This is slightly more than the 1 to 15 rates in the Netherlands, and 1 in 20 in the Czech Republic. A study done in Germany showed that approximately 1 in 5 pork sausages was contaminated.

France’s traditional figatellu is a pig liver sausage, which is often eaten raw. It’s a confirmed carrier of hepatitis E. In France, where rare or raw pork is a popular delicacy in many regions, more than half of the population has hepatitis E.

As pork popularity increases in Japan, so too is the risk of hepatitis E. What about the UK? Hepatitis E is found in pork sausages, pork liver, and pork slaughterhouses. This indicates the potential for widespread exposure to pork consumers.

Although it might seem tempting to put the blame on commercial farming practices for the hepatitis E epidemic, in the case of the pork, wilder does not necessarily mean more secure. Hunted boars are also frequent carriers of hepatitis E and can pass the virus on to humans who eat them.

The best way to reduce hepatitis E risk apart from abstaining completely from pork consumption is in the kitchen. This stubborn virus can survive high temperatures, so it is possible to infect meats that have been cooked for a long time. To deactivate the virus, cook pork products for 20 minutes at a temperature of 71°C (160°F).

Hepatitis virus protection can be achieved by fat, so fattier cuts might require extra time or higher temperatures

SUMMARY: Hepatitis E is a disease that affects pork products, especially liver. It can cause serious complications and even death in those who are most vulnerable. To activate the virus, you must cook thoroughly.

2. Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most serious risks that pork can pose, but it has received very little attention. This is a debilitating autoimmune condition that affects the central nervous system.

Since at least the 1980s, the strong link between pork and MS is well-known.

While countries like India and Israel were almost spared by MS’s degenerative grips on their pork, liberal consumers such as West Germany or Denmark faced high rates.

When all countries were taken into consideration, the correlation between pork intake and MS was 0.87 (p0.001) which is significantly higher than the relationship between MS intake and fat intake (0.63, p0.01), MS intake and total meat intake (0.61, p0.01), and MS and beef consumption (no significant relation).

A similar study on diabetes and per-capita sugar intake was done in 165 countries.

Like all epidemiological findings in epidemiology, the correlation between pork intake and MS cannot prove one causes the other. Or, even worse, in MS-stricken nations, the most enthusiastic pork eaters were the sickest. The evidence vault is much deeper, it turns out.

An earlier study of residents of the Orkney Islands and Shetland islands of Scotland found that MS was not associated with their consumption of “potted heads,” a dish made with boiled pig brains.

The percentage of MS patients who had eaten potted head as a child among Shetland residents was significantly higher than those with healthy, aged, and sex-matched controls.

This is especially relevant as MS can strike in adulthood due to environmental exposures in adolescence.

It’s not just an observational possibility that pig brain could trigger nerve-related immune system. A group of 24 workers at a pork plant mysteriously became ill with progressive neuropathy between 2007 and 2009. This condition is characterized by MS-like symptoms like fatigue, tingling, and pain.

What is the source of the epidemic? The so-called “pig brain fog” is tiny pieces of brain tissue that were blown into the atmosphere during carcass processing.

These tissue particles were inhaled by workers who, according to standard protocol, developed antibodies against foreign porcine antigens.

These antigens bear a striking resemblance to certain neural proteins found in humans. The result was a biological disaster: The workers’ immune systems were confused as to who to fight and launched an attack on their nerve tissue.

While the resultant autoimmunity was not identical to multiple sclerosis, it has been shown that the same molecular mimicry process, where self-antigens and foreign antigens are similar enough for an autoimmune response to be triggered by MS.

Hot dogs and ham, however, are not literally breathed (teenage boys aside). Is pork still capable of transmitting harmful substances by ingestion? It is possible, but it is not certain. One, certain bacteria, especially Acinetobacter are involved in molecular mimicry of myelin, which is the nerve-sheathing substance damaged by MS.

While the role of pigs in Acinetobacter transmission has not been thoroughly studied, it has been confirmed in pork feces and on pig farms. It also has been detected in bacon, pork salami, and ham where it acts as a spoilage organism. A link to MS would be logical if pork is used as a vehicle for Acinetobacter infection (or increases the risk of human infections).

Two, pigs are silent and unstudied carriers of prions, misfolded protein that drives neuro-degenerative disorders such as Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (the human equivalent of mad cow), and Kuru (found in cannibal societies)

Researchers believe MS could be a prion disorder. This is because it targets oligodendrocytes (the cells that make myelin). Prions and the associated diseases are transmitted through infected nerve tissue. It is possible that prion-harboring pork products could be one link in this MS chain.

SUMMARY: Although the causative role for pork in MS is not clear-cut, it is a compelling case due to its unusual epidemiological patterns, biological plausibility, and documented experiences.

3. Liver Cancer and Cirrhosis

Some risk factors that can lead to liver problems, such as hepatitis C and hepatitis B, and C infection, excessive alcohol consumption, and exposure to aflatoxin (a mold-carcinogen), tend to follow closely.

However, pork is a potential threat to liver health that has not been mentioned in scientific literature.

Since the 1960s, liver cancer and cirrhosis rates have been closely linked to pork consumption. Multi-country analyses showed that the correlation between pork consumption and cirrhosis mortality was 0.40 (p0.05), using 1965 data; 0.89 (p0.01), using mid-1970s and 1996 data; 0.68 (p=0.003), using 1996 data; and 0.83 (p=0.000), using 2003 data.

These same analyses showed that among the 10 Canadian provinces pork had a correlation of 0.60 (p0.01) to death from liver disease. Alcohol, possibly due to a lower overall intake, did not show any significant relationship.

In statistical models that included known liver diseases (alcohol, hepatitis B and hepatitis C), pork was not associated with liver disease. This suggests that the association may not be due to pork piggybacking.

These studies, however, showed that beef was liver-neutral and protective.

Processed pork is a major source of nitrosamines in dietary foods. It also has a lot of use as a frying pan. (Vegetables also contain naturally occurring nitrates. However, their antioxidant content as well as a lack of protein help to thwart the process N-nitrosation and prevent them from becoming cancer-causing agents.

Pork liver pate, pork sausage, bacon, and other cured meats have significant amounts of nitrosamines. Particularly the fatty portions of pork products tend to accumulate higher levels of nitrosamines than the lean ones. This makes bacon an especially abundant source.

Vitamin C can be made a nitrosamine inducer by the presence of fat. This is why pairing pork with vegetables might not provide much protection.

While most of the research on nitrosamine-liver carcinoma has been done in rodents (where certain nitrosamines cause liver injury with incredible ease), the effects can also be seen in humans. Some researchers believe that humans are more sensitive than rats and mice to nitrosamines.

For example, liver cancer has been linked to nitrosamines in Thailand. An analysis by the NIH-AARP cohort in 2010 found that red meat (including pork), and processed meat were positively associated with chronic liver diseases. The rates of non-alcohol-related liver disease and cancer among rubber workers who are occupationally exposed to nitrosamines have been extremely high.

Do nitrosamines establish a link between nitrosamines and liver-harming substances or liver disease? The evidence is currently too patchy to make that claim, but the risk is plausible enough to justify limiting nitrosamine-containing (or nitrosamine-producing) pork products, including bacon, ham, hot dogs and sausages made with sodium nitrite or potassium nitrate.

SUMMARY: There are strong epidemiological connections between liver disease and pork consumption. These links could be caused and affected by Nitroso compounds. They are abundant in high-temperature pork products.

4. Yersinia

For many years, pork’s cautionary motto was “well done or bust” because of concerns about trichinosis (a roundworm infection that has ravaged pork consumers for much of the 20 ^th century.

Changes in farming practices, hygiene, and quality control have made pig-borne trichinosis less common, which has allowed pink pork to return to the market.

However, pork’s relaxed heat regulations may have allowed for a new type of infection: yersiniosis. This is caused by the Yersinia bacteria. Yersinia is responsible for 35 deaths and nearly 117,000 cases each year in the United States. Is this the main entry point for humans? Undercooked pork.

Although Yersiniosis’s immediate symptoms include fever, pain, and bloody diarrhea, the long-term effects are truly alarming. Victims of Yersinia poisoning are at 47 times greater risk of reactive arthritis (a type of inflammatory joint disease triggered from infection).

Even children can become post- Yersinia arthritis targets. Sometimes, this may require chemical synovectomy (the injection osmic in a troubled joint to relieve persistent pain)

In the rare cases where Yersinia isn’t causing the usual diarrheic and feverish symptoms, even if the initial infection was not symptomatic, reactive arthritis can occur. Some victims are unaware that their arthritis is due to food-borne illness.

While reactive arthritis tends to resolve on its own, Yersinia suffers are still at greater risk for chronic joint problems such as ankylosing spondylitis and sacroiliitis over the long-term.

There is evidence that Yersinia may cause neurological complications. Individuals with iron overload could be at greater risk of multiple liver abscesses that can lead to death. Anterior uveitis is a condition that causes inflammation of the eye’s iris in people who are genetically vulnerable to Yersinia.

Lastly, Yersinia infection may also increase the risk of Graves’ disease. This is an autoimmune condition characterized by excess thyroid hormone production.

What’s the solution? Get ready to heat. Most pork products (69%) are contaminated by Yersinia bacteria. Proper cooking is the best way to prevent infection. To kill any lingering pathogen, whole pork should be cooked at least 145°F and ground pork at 160°F.

SUMMARY: Undercooked pork may transmit Yersinia bacteria. This can cause short-term illness, as well as increasing the risk of reactive arthritis and chronic joint conditions, Graves’ disease, and other complications.

In conclusion

Should health-conscious omnivores eliminate pork from their diet?

The verdict is still out. Hepatitis E and Yersinia are two of the problems that pork has. Safe handling and aggressive cooking can help to reduce this risk. Because there is not enough pork-centric research that can establish causation, other red flags in pork come from epidemiology, a field filled with unfounded confidence and confounding factors.

Worse, many diet and disease studies lump pork with other red meats, diluting any associations that might be made with pork.

These issues make it difficult to determine the safety and health of pig-derived products.

Nonetheless, it is prudent to exercise caution. A true risk is more likely due to the consistency, magnitude and mechanistic plausibility that pork has with many serious diseases.

You might think twice before you go hog wild on pork until further research is done.

The path to liver cancer is also a direct result of pig-eating habits. An analysis from 1985 showed that pork consumption was as strong as alcohol in causing hepatocellular carcinoma deaths (0.40, respectively). This connection should not be surprising considering that liver cirrhosis can often precede cancer.

What’s the secret to these strange associations?

The most plausible explanations are not obvious at first glance. Although liver cirrhosis can be caused by pork-transmitted Hepatitis E, it is almost always in immunosuppressed individuals. This subset of the population is too small to explain the global correlation.

Comparable to other meats, pork tends to be high in omega-6 fats, including arachidonic and linoleic acids. These may be responsible for liver disease. Vegetable oils, which have a higher level of polyunsaturated fat acids than pork, aren’t as good at preventing liver disease.

Heterocyclic Amines are a group of carcinogens that can be formed from high-temperature cooking of meats (including pork). These compounds can also be found in beef, as well, according to the same studies.

It would be easy to dismiss the link between pork-liver and disease as an epidemiological fluke. However, some plausible mechanisms do exist.

The most likely candidate is Nitrosamines. These carcinogenic compounds are created when Nitrites and Nitrates react with certain amines (from proteins) in high heat. These compounds have been shown to cause damage and cancer in many organs including the liver.

Pork liver pate, pork sausage, bacon, and other cured meats have significant amounts of nitrosamines Particularly the fatty portions of pork products tend to accumulate higher levels of nitrosamines than the lean ones. This makes bacon an especially abundant source.

Vitamin C can be made a nitrosamine inducer by the presence of fat. This is why pairing pork with vegetables might not provide much protection.

For example, liver cancer has been linked to nitrosamines in Thailand. An analysis by the NIH-AARP cohort in 2010 found that red meat (including pork) and processed meat (including pork) were positively associated with chronic liver diseases. The rates of non-alcohol-related liver disease and cancer among rubber workers who are occupationally exposed to nitrosamines have been extremely high.

SUMMARY: There are strong epidemiological connections between liver disease and pork consumption. These links could be caused and affected by Nitroso compounds. They are abundant in high-temperature pork products.

Red or White: What kind of meat is Pork?

Despite its popularity worldwide, many are still unsure of its proper classification.

It is classified as red meat by some, but white meat by others.

This article will examine whether pork is white meat or red meat.

The differences between white and red meat

The primary difference in red and white meats’ colors is the amount of myoglobin present in the animal’s muscles.

Myoglobin, a protein found in muscle tissue, binds oxygen to produce energy.

Myoglobin is the primary pigment in meat. It produces a bright red color when it comes into contact with oxygen.

Red meat contains more myoglobin than white meat. This is what makes their colors stand out.

However, many factors can influence the color of meat, including animal age, species, diet, activity level, and gender.

Exercised muscles, for example, have a higher concentration of myoglobin because they require more oxygen to function. The result is darker meat.

Additionally, different packaging and processing methods can result in variations in meat color.

Raw meats from beef, lamb and pork should have a maximum surface color of cherry red, dark cherry, grayish-pink and pale pink. It can vary from yellow to bluish-white in raw poultry.

SUMMARY: Myoglobin, a protein that gives meat its red color, is the primary factor in determining whether it’s white or red. Myoglobin is higher in red meat than it is in white meat.

The Scientific Classification of Pork

According to the scientists and food experts, pork is considered red meat.

This classification has two main reasons.

First, pork contains more myoglobin than fish and poultry. It is therefore classified as red meat, even though it does not have a bright red color and it can become lighter when it is cooked.

A second reason is that pork, like beef, lamb and veal are livestock. All livestock are red meat.

SUMMARY: Pork contains more myoglobin than poultry and fish. Therefore, USDA and the scientific community classify pork as red meat. Pork is also considered red meat due to its classification as livestock, along with other farm animals.

Culinary Class of Pork

White meat is meat that has a pale color before and after cooking, according to culinary tradition.

Accordingly, pork can be classified as white meat.

This position may be reinforced by a campaign by the National Pork Board, which is sponsored by USDA’s agricultural marketing services.

It was launched in the late 1980s to promote pork as a lean alternative. The slogan “Pork” became very popular. The other white meat.

Keep in mind, however, that the campaign was intended to increase demand for pork with lower fat.

SUMMARY: Pork is considered white meat in Culinary Tradition because of its pale color both before and after cooking.

The bottom Line

Myoglobin is the protein that gives meat its color, and white meat has more than red meat.

Red meat contains more myoglobin than white meat. A higher level of myoglobin results in a darker color.

Pork is considered white meat in culinary traditions. However, scientists consider it to be red meat because it contains more myoglobin than poultry and fish.

Pork is also classified as livestock as it is a farm animal. This is red meat.

Certain lean cuts of pork can be nutritionally identical to chicken. This is why the slogan “Pork.” was created. The other white meat.

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