Food - Drink
Why You Should Start Buying Deli Meat Instead Of Packaged Meat
By BAILEY BROCKETT
From veggie and turkey wraps to ham and cheese sandwiches, lunch meat makes for versatile and tasty meal combos, but not all cold cuts are created equal. While pre-packaged grocery store lunch meat has its advantages, such as low prices and high convenience, you're better off buying sliced meat from your local deli.
Pre-packaged lunch meats often contain quantities of sodium and saturated fat, and may even use potentially dangerous chemical preservatives. Nitrates added to meats by mass manufacturers may produce carcinogenic compounds when you cook them in a hot sandwich, or when they are digested in your stomach.
Meanwhile, meats from smaller delis are more likely to use natural nitrates for preserving purposes, and are often significantly less processed than packaged lunch meats. The best healthiest for deli meat include sliced turkey or chicken breast, due to their relatively low calorie counts and high protein content.