There are all kinds of opinions about sausages and their benefits for a healthy diet. Many people see them as natural high-fat foods, but what benefits do they really bring to our diet? In this article we deny you all the myths and truths about sausages.
What would you think if we told you that sausages have many essential nutrients and benefits for our health? Well yes, including sausages in your diet gives you many advantages.
It is a food that has many nutrients and whose consumption can give you many advantages. Today we want to talk to you about which are the best sausages and how you can incorporate them into your diet in a healthy and complete way.
Let’s start!
types of sausage
The sausage is a product derived from meat and we can find several types depending on its preparation.
There are raw sausages that have not undergone heat treatment and can be fresh or smoked. And there are also cooked sausages that have gone through thermal processes.
Surely cured sausages also sound familiar to you. They are those that have gone through a drying process.
The best classification we can make is the one that attends to its main ingredient. In this way, you can find 4 types of basic sausages:
Meat sausages: such as chorizo, salchichón, lomo embuchado, fuet, sausage, butifarra, sobrasada…
Offal sausages: such as sabadeño, liver sausage or Galician sausage.
Blood sausages: the best known is blood sausage.
Cold cuts: among which we find York ham, mortadella, wild boar’s head, chopped, turkey breast, etc…
Among the meat sausages, in addition to pork, there are also those of bushmeat, and this meat is characterized by being an important source of protein, minerals, iron, phosphorus and group A vitamins, essential in Our organism. In addition, its low fat content makes this type of sausage one of the healthiest you can eat.
Among the wild meat sausages, deer meat and wild boar meat stand out. The deer sausage has a pleasant flavor and a light texture and, for its part, the wild boar has a more intense flavor and its texture is stronger.
Of these 2 kinds of sausages we find, as is the case with pork sausages, a wide variety of them such as chorizo, salchichón, fuet, cecina or ham, among others.
Game and Wild Meat Sausages
Health benefits of sausages
Eating sausage gives you benefits as healthy as these:
They are rich in potassium, zinc, magnesium and phosphorus. And, of course, if the quality of the meat from which the sausage comes is good, its properties will be better.
Ideal for people with anemia due to lack of iron. Its high content of iron and vitamin B12 makes this food ideal for fighting anemia or when you have low iron levels.
They provide the energy you need before exercising, since they are an important source of calories. Eating sausage can be very beneficial for athletes or for people who do work that causes them great physical wear.
They have a high level of selenium. This nutrient is needed in small amounts, and sausages provide the recommended daily amount. Selenium is an important antioxidant that lowers the risk of diseases such as cancer, anemia, diabetes, and certain infectious diseases.
What is the healthiest sausage
Sausages are high in protein but also contain large amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and salt. Therefore, when you choose which sausages to buy and which are the most convenient for you, these are the ones with the least fat:
Sausages, black pudding, chorizo and cold cuts: they are the ones that contain a higher rate of saturated fat. It is better to consume them less frequently.
Serrano ham, York ham, turkey and chicken: they are the ones that provide the least fat, especially turkey (with a scarce 1%). Iberian ham, although it has much more fat, contains monounsaturated fats, which are healthier.
Sausages Low in Salt and Fat
One of the ingredients that sausages contain is sodium (200 mg of sodium per 100 grams of sausage), you must be very careful if you need to follow a low-salt diet.
The health authorities recommend eating sausage once or twice a week and it is preferable to choose those that are leaner and with less sodium.
Therefore, consuming these quantities and following a balanced diet accompanied by physical exercise, eating sausage does not pose any danger to your health.
