http://balancedbites.com/2011/05/bacon-health-food-or-devil-in-delicious-disguise.html“I had a lot of bacon for breakfast today. Also had an EKG, blood work, BP-106/54. The doctor said I’m the healthiest person he has seen in years.”
-- Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution
“Want a truly heart-healthy breakfast? Ditch your cereal and OJ and eat bacon and eggs instead.”
-- Chris Kresser, L.Ac, author of The Healthy Skeptic
Let’s talk about the two biggest reasons why most people are still hesitant to eat cured pork belly.
1. THE FAT IN BACON
Won’t eating fat make me FAT? No. Though it sounds accurate, that’s not how the metabolism of macronutrients works.
learn more:
http://balancedbites.com/2011/05/bacon-health-food-or-devil-in-delicious-disguise.htmlOkay, but doesn’t bacon contain a lot of the “bad,” saturated fat?
First of all, let’s get one thing straight right now: (naturally occurring) SATURATED FAT IS NOT BAD FAT.
It is called saturated because of it’s chemical structure that is a completely stable chain of carbon molecules. Saturated fat = stable fat = safe fat to consume, even when heated.
"As far as I can tell, there is no limit to the amount of this kind of fat that you can eat, as long as your protein and micronutrient needs are being met. You cannot eat “too much” saturated fat unless you are not getting enough of something else. "
-- Dr. Kurt Harris [
http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2011/1/29/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-macronutrient-part-i-fats.html]
We’ve also been told that eating fat (and primarily saturated fat) would raise our cholesterol which would lead to heart disease.
Wrong again. But conveniently enough, the idea that high cholesterol is dangerous to our bodies and that lowering it might be beneficial sells a heck of a lot of drugs. $29 billion worth each year in fact. That sounds a lot easier than, oh, I don’t know, changing the LIFESTYLE factors that DO contribute to elevated cholesterol in an inflammatory environment that may be responsible for disease. Things like STRESS, smoking, drinking alcohol, consuming excess carbohydrates primarily in the form of sugar and refined foods – all of which, by the way, just create more systemic stress for your body.
see:
1)
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/01/does-dietary-saturated-fat-increase.html2)
http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-most-important-thing-you-probably-dont-know-about-cholesterolBut that’s sort of not the point here because the majority of the fat in bacon (50%) is MONOUNSATURATED fat. Yes, the same primary fat that you find in olive oil. Most people aren’t walking around holding on to a notion that olive oil is unhealthy for them, but somehow they have been convinced that lard is. According to Dr. Mary Enig, author of “Know Your Fats,” lard “can either be a firm fat or a soft fat depending on what the pig is fed” and its fatty acid profile is usually about: 40% saturated fatty acids (SFA) 50% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) 10% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Olive oil, for the record, is usually about 16% SFA, over 70% MUFA and the remaining roughly 14% PUFA.
"...Now, would I recommend limitless consumption of bacon that originates from grain-fed, factory-farmed pigs? No! Absolutely not! Would I recommend some consumption of bacon that originates from pastured pigs fed an omnivorous diet that does not contain grain. Yes! Absolutely! I don’t think that occasionally eating bacon from grain-fed, factory-farmed pigs is bad if the consumer has an otherwise good diet.
My definiton of a good diet is one that is comprised of meat from grass-fed or pastured animals, vegetables, roots, tubers, and bulbs with limited fruit, nut, seed, and fermented dairy consumption and no grain, legume or milk consumption.“
-- Mat Lalonde, Ph. D. in organic chemistry and all-around nutritional biochemistry geek regarding bacon
http://balancedbites.com/2011/05/bacon-health-food-or-devil-in-delicious-disguise.html****
2. THE NITRATES IN BACON
"It may surprise you to learn that the vast majority of nitrate/nitrite exposure comes not from food, but from endogenous sources within the body. In fact, nitrites are produced by your own body in greater amounts than can be obtained from food, and salivary nitrite accounts for 70-90% of our total nitrite exposure. In other words, your spit contains far more nitrites than anything you could ever eat.
When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites. On average, about 93% of nitrites we get from food come from vegetables. It may shock you to learn that one serving of arugula, two servings of butter lettuce, and four servings of celery or beets all have more nitrite than 467 hot dogs. And your own saliva has more nitrites than all of them! So before you eliminate cured meats from your diet, you might want to address your celery intake. And try not to swallow so frequently."
read more:
http://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon“I make no attempt whatsoever to avoid the bacon that has the nitrates in it because that’s all nonsense anyway. There’s no harm to eating the nitrates in bacon.”
-- Kurt Harris, MD - who lists bacon amongst the things he eats nearly daily.
“Nitrate (NO3) is a molecule that has received a lot of bad press over the years. It was initially thought to promote digestive cancers, in part due to its ability to form carcinogens in the digestive tract. As it’s used as a preservative in processed meats, and there is a link between processed meats and gastric cancer (1), nitrate was viewed with suspicion and a number of countries imposed strict limits on its use as a food additive. But what if I told you that by far the greatest source of nitrate in the modern diet isn’t processed meat– but vegetables, particularly leafy greens (2)? And that the evidence specifically linking nitrate consumption to gastric cancer has largely failed to materialize? For example, one study found no difference in the incidence of gastric cancer between nitrate fertilizer plant workers and the general population (3). Most other studies in animals and humans have not supported the hypothesis that nitrate itself is carcinogenic (4, 5, 6). This, combined with recent findings on nitrate biology, has the experts singing a different tune in the last few years.”
from:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/06/nitrate-protective-factor-in-leafy.html“I don’t think bacon is the ideal food to eat on a daily basis because of the smoking and other processing and the relatively high temperatures usually used to cook it, but the hard facts are that it is not only a good source of choline, but downright delicious and thus an important part of making breakfast or a grass-fed cheeseburger taste awesome. It is also bendable into heart shapes for a loved one. Bacon should therefore not be shunned or ignored.”
-- Chris Masterjohn of Cholesterol and Health & The Daily Lipid
More reading:
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/does-banning-hotdogs-and-bacon-make.html*** Source of the above: Diane Sanfilippo
BS, Certified Nutrition Educator, C.H.E.K. Holistic Lifestyle
Coach
San Francisco Nutritionist & Paleo Nutritionist serving the Bay Area and beyond via phone & Skype consultations.
http://balancedbites.com/2011/05/bacon-health-food-or-devil-in-delicious-disguise.html"A bit more bacon—even a few strips— sometimes even gets the Food Police stamp of approval, provided it’s a special treat, of course, and not a daily indulgence. But such recommendations usually come complete with a warning to stick with lean bacon, and then cook it so it’s firm but not soft. While that last sounds a bit naughty, it’s actually anti-fat food puritanism—the goal being to render the soft parts into fat that can be poured or patted off.
But what if bacon is actually good for us? What if it actually supports good health and is not a mortal dietary sin after all? What if we can eat all we’d like?
