This holiday season, you may need to think again about serving ham on your table as a new study suggests that cured meat may worsen the symptoms of asthma.

The study conducted by French researchers involved an examination of 971 participants for a 7-year duration. Frequent questionnaires were used to monitor the participants' intake of cured meat.

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It was discovered that 20 percent of self-reported asthma symptoms became worse due to "direct effect of cured meat intake." About 42 percent of the participants also reported that they had asthma between 2003 and 2004 and that their average consumption of cured meat weekly was 2.5 servings.

This data was likened with statistics from 2011 to 2013 revealing that one in every five individuals experienced worse symptoms of asthma attacks. Further, the findings revealed that individuals who consume cured ham, sausages, and salami more than four times a week had 76 percent higher chances of compromising their lung function.

The nitrites preservatives present in cured meat, which is also linked to serious health conditions such as COPD, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, has an independent role in aggravating an individual's condition probably due to its effect on airway inflammation. The researchers also took account of other factors such as sex, education, regular physical activity, and smoking which may worsen the respiratory disorder.

In another study on processed foods, pathogen-associated molecules have been identified which are believed to cause an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Researchers observed a bacterium present in processed food.

The lead researcher of the study, which was published in the Thorax, Dr. Zhen Li, clarified that the study was only based only on observation and does not provide evidence that cured meat worsens asthma. She added that the observation only involved association of the processed food with asthma in a certain group of individuals.