Since you’re here, let’s skip the sugarcoating—”Give it to me straight, doc?” Fine, here it is: yes, smokies are a guilty pleasure. There’s your answer, genius.
Now, why are they bad for you? Glad you asked, because that’s exactly why this post exists—quick disclaimer, though—I’m not a health expert or some sort of scientist. I just went down a research rabbit hole for this one, for you guys; yes, you all like family to me…[starts tearing up]
What is Wrong with Smokies?
Here’s the deal with smokies: they’re carcinogenic—yep, they can cause cancer. Now, I know we love to say everything causes cancer these days (cue the conspiracy theorists), but this one’s legit.
It’s backed by the World Health Organization (WHO), so you can relax knowing it’s not some sketchy claim from a random weird guy on Reddit.
Well, well, well, let’s not put all the blame on smokies here—it’s the entire processed meat squad that’s out to get you. Think smokies’ cousins: sausages, bacon, ham, hotdogs, salami, and every other meat that’s had a questionable amount of “factory love”.
Processed meats have actually been compared to smoking cigarettes—yeah, it’s that bad. They’re not just labeled carcinogenic; they’re classified as Group 1 carcinogenic, right up there with tobacco and asbestos.
Let that sink in for a moment: your smokie is in the same category as lighting up a cigarette or handling asbestos. Pretty grim, huh?
So why am I picking on smokies? Simple: they’re the most popular processed meat in the country. Let’s be real, when’s the last time you went a whole month without a smokie pasua? Exactly.
They’re practically the unofficial #1 street food in Kenya. That’s why this post is all about smokies—they’re relatable, relevant, and let’s face it, most of you are guilty. Oh, and FYI, everything I’m saying about smokies applies to all processed meats.
How are Smokies Carcinogenic Exactly?
It’s a lot of science-y stuff, but here’s the TL;DR version:
Processed meats are cured using salts, mainly sodium nitrates/nitrites. These little guys react with the meat to create nitrosamines, which are… not great.
On top of that, when you cook these meats—especially grilling or smoking them—you get a bonus round of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), which also aren’t doing you any favors.
The nitrites act as oxidizers, which can damage your DNA or stress out your cells. Sure, your body has its own cleanup crew to repair damaged DNA and take out potential cancerous cells, but over years of exposure, mistakes can happen. Missed cancer cells can start to pile up, and boom—cancer growths.
And if you’re curious, just flip over the Smokies packet and take a peek at the ingredients—yep, sodium nitrite is right there, staring back at you.
According to the WHO (link at the end of this post), eating 50g of processed meat daily can increase your risk of colorectal cancer by 18% (that’s cancer of the colon and rectum).
For context, if you’re not eating processed meat, your baseline risk of developing colon cancer is about 5%.
So, Should We Stop Eating Smokies?
Ah, the giant question: should we stop eating smokies? Well, technically, yes—but are we really going to? Probably not.
Smokies are like that toxic ex: you know they’re bad for you, but every once in a while, they’re just too convenient to resist.
Maybe don’t make smokies your daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner lineup. Instead, treat them like the guilty pleasure they are—occasional, indulgent when you do give in. So maybe eating smochas daily for lunch isn’t a good idea.
Everything’s trying to kill you these days, but honestly, it’s not worth losing sleep over. Even knowing all this, I still indulge in smokies and bacon—but in moderation. Like, once a week.
Saturdays are sacred in my house because bacon is always on the breakfast menu alongside eggs and waffles. (If you’ve been hanging around here long enough, you already know how much I love bacon.)
That said, you can mitigate the risks by eating plenty of fiber to balance things out. But if you’re really serious about your health, you might want to cut back on processed meats—or ditch them entirely.
There are plenty of healthier street food alternatives that won’t betray you, like mahindi choma, maembe pili pili, or mayai pasua. Delicious, satisfying, and much less guilt-inducing.
Read more from WHO: Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat
Check Out This Article: 15 Popular Kenyan Street Foods Compilation in Nairobi
