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Bacon
Health | March 23, 2015
A few people rang the alarm bells when I shared a recipe that called for some bacon. If you’re vegan or vegetarian I fully understand if this is not your thing :). Otherwise, hear me out. Contrary to what many of us hear or heard growing up, bacon is not bad for you. As with any other red meat, portion control is always your friend. Still, bacon is good source of protein and fat (and deliciousness!), especially when keeping your carbs under control.
Let’s be clear about a few things before I begin discussing bacon. First and foremost, I don’t support and will never promote any kind of meat or animal product that is not organic and grass-fed and, of course, humanely treated. Secondly, I’m talking about premium bacon – the kind that might be bit more expensive, but definitely worth the few extra dollars in terms of overall health (and taste!).
A common issue that is brought up when discussing cured meats including bacon is that the methods of preservation including the use of nitrites and nitrates are an incredible risk to our health. The truth is that such claims are a bit far-fetched. These methods of curing have been around for hundreds of years. Sure, there are cheaper ways to do so just as there are better and worse types of meats to purchase, i.e., grass-fed, organic, etc. As with anything else, quality counts.
Nitrates and nitrites exist in the most unlikely places. Some vegetables are incredibly high in nitrates. For example, check out this study that demonstrates that two servings of beets or celery has more nitrate than close to 500 hot dogs! The same study concluded that consuming nitrate and nitrite are not associated with a higher cancer risk either.
Often the things that we’re told are unhealthy are considered so because people eat them in such huge amounts. Overeating alongside an already poor diet and lack of exercise will obviously lead to disastrous results regarding health and wellbeing.
Moderation seems to have gone the way of the dinosaurs, in my opinion. Of course, anything including bacon is going to be bad for you if you decide to eat it like popcorn 24/7. However, as part of a balanced diet it’s a tasty treat that doesn’t need to be shunned as though it’s the equivalent of shooting up heroine or meth :).
I’m not trying to tell you guys what you must eat, but I hope I’ve explained why I do eat the things I do such as bacon. Again, it’s a good source of protein and a great source of healthy fat.
Any bacon-loving warriorz out there care to share your favorite ways to prepare and use bacon? Do you fry it or throw it in the oven? Any brands you swear by? Let me know!
Private Member |
You need to try bacon-wrapped dates, they’re delicious!. E.g. http://www.popsugar.com/food/Recipe-Bacon-Wrapped-Dates-4952556
Have a great day!
E
Private Member |
Bacon, brussell sprouts & onions, roasted….soooo good!
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tx, usa
I’m ordinary and just love having bacon with my eggs & spinach as a treat for breakfast on Sunday mornings. My husband grills it so its not soaking in any extra fat. Thanks for this article Zuzka! It needed to be said!
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I don’t understand why people say bacon is unhealthy. One cooked strip is 40 calories. Yes there’s saturated fat, but so is coconut oil, fish (oils), nuts etc. this is the good stuff! My health improved drastically when I upped these fats.
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I sautée it with brussel sprouts and then roast them in the oven. It’s my favorite side dish…or meal sometimes :-p
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Sometimes I fry it sometimes bake it. But I always remove the oil with papertowel. And asparagus wrapped in bacon… It’s just so good
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valras plage, france
I live in France. We use a small amount of lardons (bacon) to flavor sauces, quiches and the best I’ve tasted is a crispy piece of smoked bacon over perfectly steamed cod fish and big fresh salad…..hmmmm..BTW It is rare to see people with huge weight problems here and we eat everything….everything in MODERATION!!!! thanks for your commentary Z
Private Member |
Hey 🙂
read your blog from time to time as my two close ton me girls love you and follow your exercise programs for quite a long now.
You are the guru for many girls (including my sister and my girlfriend).
They take example from you and your lifestyle…and even myself sometimes come here and read /watch your blog.
Therefore, please please please next time you write make sure the things you want to spread are true.
Don’t just write something because you think that way-as a person who is an advocate of healthy life style I excpect a bit more from information you post on your blog…
1. Bacon is the worst food your body can handle.
2. There is not such a thing like humanely treated animals who are killed for meat. DOES NOT EXISTS.
3. Organic has nothing to do with animal treatings and meaning of this is only that animals are not feed with GMO food – this still doeas not mean bacon isiis good for you, even organic.
4.Grass-feeding has nothing to do with animals treating or that meat is more healthy for you.
As the person who has an huge impact on others lifestyle I personally think (and this is my subjective opinion) people like you should educate themselves and others, what is good for your body and what is just an eating habit…
Please don’t get me wrong, the job you do for others is fantastic. This is just personal opinion about information you share that is nowhere close to true about bacon…
😉
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lake tahoe, nv, usa
I’m sorry that this is how you feel, however I believe that what I wrote is true and it’s also very well researched… Please understand that this is not a vegan website. For you to come here and say these things is no different than if I went on a vegan website and try to convince every one that what they believe is bunch of BS. I don’t do that because Im not an extremist, however I noticed these tendencies in the vegan community. Therefor I can’t even take that community seriously anymore. One thing is to lead by example and believe in your lifestyle, but why get so offended by other people’s choices? When I get a comment from a Vegan telling me I need to do more research and educate myself, I literally roll my eyes, because it’s so passive aggressive.
Private Member |
Zuzka, did not mean to offend you.
And point taken re-vegan.
You are absolutely right- vegan community grows fast and it is become quite irritate for the rest of the people who still think there are “omnivores”. Unless you become one of them.Like for us is irritating to listen/watch awfull advertises about animal product or reading misleading information 😉
Anyway, this is not a place to talk about this and I don’t have intention to convert you or anyone into vegan life style…
But if I say , I buy Apple products because Apple in China treat workers fair and they dont have to work 14-16 hours/day anymore but 10-12 , do you think it is the right reason and now I should feel better to support Apple?
I just pointed on your post that there is no humane way to kill nor farm any other living beings.Do you disagree??? Do you know humane way to kill?
Anyway, I know that you have your own say about this, 10 years ago I was thinking about vegan lifestyle probably the same way.
If this post was just about eating bacon-in many different ways – I would not even say a word.
You however wrote completely misleading information (bacon healthy, humane treated animals in farms/slaughterhouses,)
“First and foremost, I don’t support and will never promote any kind of meat or animal product that is not organic and grass-fed and, of course, humanely treated.”
And this statement was written by complately ignorant about how animal products are produced and the way meat, milk or eggs become your food on the plate.
So yes, I recommend to go and educate yourself on that field.
You can roll your eyes now
😉
Private Member |
To: PAWEL
You wrote: ” … So yes, I recommend to go and educate yourself on that field.
You can roll your eyes now.”
Dear Pawel,
Be humble, polite and educate yourself, please …. learn about the “Black Iberian pig” .. and you can also “roll your eyes now”.
Best regards
” … The Iberian pig is one of the scarce non-improved swine breeds which survives the modern techniques of pig production based on improved genotypes. This is attributed both to its perfect adaptation to the Mediterranean natural ecosystem and the high quality of its products. The production of meat products from Iberian pigs has very little in common with that of meat products obtained from selected pigs raised under intensive conditions, and it constitutes an example of the preparation of high quality meat products, comparable to the most exquisite food products in the world. The production of Iberian pig is deeply bound to the Mediterranean ecosystem. It is a rare example in the world swine production where the pig contributes so decisively to the preservation of the ecosystem. …”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Iberian_pig
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0309174098900365
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lake tahoe, nv, usa
Good for you. I think you should totally stick to what you believe. Now if you excuse me, I’ll have my bacon snack while I work on my Apple computer and answer my iPhone 😉
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There needs to be a like button so that I can like this comment 100 times! LOL
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Zuzka, I’ve been doing your workouts for many years. I’ve also found that our nutritional beliefs are very similair which is pretty cool. In reference to Pawel’s comment about grass fed animals not being any healthier than their grain fed counter parts I immediately thought of a book called “Fat’s that heal, Fats that kill” by Udo Erasmus. Have you read it? If you haven’t there’s a section where he compares domesticated animals with their wild counterparts and shows a nutritional breakdown of their physical make ups. The wild counterparts of all animals compared were much healthier that their domesticated and grain fed counterparts. Anyway, I’m sure that you are aware of this, but I felt it was worth pointing out. And if you haven’t read Udo’s book I highly recommend that you do. I love what you do and your kind spirit. Take care.
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Totally, I haven’t read the book, but I found tons of interesting information on this website: http://www.eatwild.com/index.html it
I feel like going to the extreme of cutting out such an important part of our diet is not solving anything and I believe it could hurt us in the long run. Making sure that we’re eating healthy meat is the way to go in my opinion.