The Study
Effects of Dry-Cured Ham Consumption on Cardiometabolic and Vascular Health in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Intervention Studies
This study looked at a few small experiments where people ate dry-cured ham for a few weeks and checked their blood numbers. It found tiny changes, like slightly lower blood pressure, but it didn’t prove the ham caused those changes—maybe people ate less junk food at the same time. So we can say it might be linked to small improvements, but we can’t say it definitely helps or hurts.
Analysis score
Maximum 85 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Where the score came from
Scientists looked at studies where people ate a small amount of special Spanish ham every day for a few weeks to see if it hurt or helped their heart health.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 552 / 100
Quality score
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of cohort studies. They sit above a single cohort study but below a single randomized trial, because the underlying evidence is still observational.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1These changes are tiny—like a drop in a bucket—and probably don't matter much for one person, but might help a lot of people over time.
- 2Ham lowered diastolic blood pressure by about 1.6 mmHg and total cholesterol by about 5 mg/dL, but didn't change systolic blood pressure, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, or blood sugar.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Foods
Year
2026
Authors
Manuel Hernández-Lorca, Desirée Victoria-Montesinos, Ana María García-Muñoz, E. Salazar, A. Abellán
Related Content
Claims (4)
People who eat meat have health outcomes that are neither worse nor better than those who eat less meat, after accounting for differences in income, education, and daily habits.
Eating 40 to 120 grams of dry-cured Iberian ham per day for 4 to 8 weeks is linked to a small decrease in diastolic blood pressure by about 1.64 mmHg in adults.
Eating 40 to 120 grams of dry-cured Iberian ham per day for 4 to 8 weeks is linked to a small decrease in total cholesterol levels by about 5.37 mg/dL in adults.
Eating 40 to 120 grams of dry-cured Iberian ham per day for 4 to 8 weeks does not change systolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, or fasting blood glucose in adults.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.