How much is too much bacon?
deanna198888
Posts: 64
Is there a such thing? I have been eating a lot of bacon, about 10 slices a day. I am staying well within my macros and have lost 3lbs this week and have lost over a pants size in the almost two weeks since going Paleo. I feel like maybe I am eating too much bacon, even though it is obviously not harming my results. Are 10 slices per day too much? I feel like I have fallen in love with bacon all over again.
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Hi, i am too new to know the answer. I like bacon also and am trying to think of more ways to incorporate it into my cooking. I love the flavor it adds to foods. Not having a lot of the prepared things we used formerly some things need help. I will look forward to the answers also.0
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Bacon is cured pork belly, or the side pork - the muscle layer that extends from the abdominal muscle (pork belly) up toward the spine. It's just fatty pork, so nothing wrong with eating your fill - as long as it is fresh pork belly or side pork.
What IS problematic however, is the amount of sodium used to cure bacon, and excessive sodium can cause fluid retention and hypertension. Because of this, I'd say it should be used wisely. It's fun to shout "I can eat all the bacon I want!" at vegetarians - lord knows I've done that - but the reality is, the salt and nitrates can get you eventually if you persistently overdo it.
My usage, as an example is: I generally make bacon once a week for brunch with my wife; I use bacon drippings to cook veggies on a regular basis; and I use small amounts of bacon crumbles or prosciutto to flavor recipes or dress salads regularly. Total bacon usage weekly for two people: perhaps 1 lb, pre-cooked.0 -
Bacon is cured pork belly, or the side pork - the muscle layer that extends from the abdominal muscle (pork belly) up toward the spine. It's just fatty pork, so nothing wrong with eating your fill - as long as it is fresh pork belly or side pork.
What IS problematic however, is the amount of sodium used to cure bacon, and excessive sodium can cause fluid retention and hypertension. Because of this, I'd say it should be used wisely. It's fun to shout "I can eat all the bacon I want!" at vegetarians - lord knows I've done that - but the reality is, the salt and nitrates can get you eventually if you persistently overdo it.
My usage, as an example is: I generally make bacon once a week for brunch with my wife; I use bacon drippings to cook veggies on a regular basis; and I use small amounts of bacon crumbles or prosciutto to flavor recipes or dress salads regularly. Total bacon usage weekly for two people: perhaps 1 lb, pre-cooked.
I am eating like 3-4lbs a week by myself. The bacon we have been buying isn't supposed to have any thing added to it so I don't know about sodium and nitrates. My BP has gone done considerably since starting Paleo, from borderline to well within normal and my right foot used to stay swollen and has gone down, I can see between my toes again! So that makes me think it must not be too bad sodium wise, because I swell easily and have no swelling right now. I am going to try to cut down regardless, its a pretty expensive eating habit and there are better choices I can be making unfortunately.0 -
I buy bacon ends and pieces from on of my local supermarkets. I find it far less expensive than the regular pound packages and it is usually less salty with a better taste. I find it at Food Lion. You might try looking around for a store that does this also.0
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From the time I was about 300lbs down to about 220lbs, I was eating between two and four pounds of bacon a week, easily. This one top of several pounds of steak, pork, and/or chicken. I still eat probably, two pounds or so, a week. My weight loss has been at a sort of back-and-forth for several months, between 180 and 190. It would continue down to where I want to be if I'd stay disciplined for longer periods of time, I think. So I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think my bacon intake is the problem. Could it cause a problem? I have no idea. We'll find out.
So for me, the answer is no... there is no such thing as too much bacon.
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No. Such. Thing.
I started (Primal, not paleo per se) with BP in the 165/90 range at the beginning of March. My doctor wanted to medicate me because this was the 2nd time it had been so high. I asked him for 6 months of improving it on my own and it turns out I didn't need it. As of Friday my bp was 130/78. There is still improvement that I could make but it's going in the right direction.
I cook a few packs of bacon on Sunday, then I keep it in the fridge in a big Rubbermaid and I snack on it, eat it for breakfast, use it as a salad topper.... you name it! I'm not the only one honking on it, but there are days where the amount of bacon I eat is about 10 slices (I have 5 with 2 eggs and berries for breakfast some days) Then I might grab a slice or two and even eat it cold out of the fridge as a snack.
Here is an interesting article I found regarding nitrites, you might like it too :P Love Chris Kresser!
http://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon0 -
I say enjoy as much as you want in the beginning. I couldn't get enough of it during the beginning of my primal journey. After all, I spent a lifetime avoiding it up until then. Then the body just reaches a point where it has had enough and then it's easy to naturally scale back. I only eat it a couple of times a month now.
As for the "no such thing" mentality, I have to disagree. Pork has an systemic inflammatory effect on the body and that is worth keeping in the back of the mind as a reason to keep it in check.0 -
I love bacon!! I buy 1-2lbs a week usually that I will try to share with family...lol. Sometimes I buy no bacon. I still like to follow the moderation and diversity of foods. So 4-5lbs of bacon is a lot and expensive for me! I spend $15 just for my 2lbs of bacon! Personal bacon choice!!!0
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I love bacon!! I buy 2lbs a week that I will try to share with family...lol. I still like to follow the moderation and diversity of foods. So 4-5lbs of bacon is a lot and expensive for me! I spend $15 now just for my 2lbs of bacon! Personal bacon choice!!!
I think my bacon fetish just disappeared. I was eating some and noticed a ton of splinter/hair like things sticking out of the rind. I was grossed out, I hope I haven't been eating that crap all along. I tried to pull them out and they wouldn't budge and they were really hard feeling.0 -
The only hindrance to that much bacon is probably the sugar content. Here in Canada, all packaged bacon is cured with molasses or some type of sugar.
I buy the Farm Boy bacon at the deli counter, and they told me it's just plain cured, but it's so good I'm not sure I trust them!
I eat about 3/4 of a pound a week (~300g) , and use the fat to cook other things as well.0 -
I was eating some and noticed a ton of splinter/hair like things sticking out of the rind. I was grossed out, I hope I haven't been eating that crap all along. I tried to pull them out and they wouldn't budge and they were really hard feeling.
Just so you (and others) know: if your bacon has rind, that rind is the skin of the pig. Since pigs have hair/bristles and the skin is usually used to make chicharones (cracklins; pork rinds), boiling water is poured on the skin and the pig bristles are scraped off (shave and a haircut, I guess). Sometimes a few bristles are missed.
Since most bacon is sold without the rind, you usually don't run into it - but you did. Just trim the piece of rind off.0 -
I was eating some and noticed a ton of splinter/hair like things sticking out of the rind. I was grossed out, I hope I haven't been eating that crap all along. I tried to pull them out and they wouldn't budge and they were really hard feeling.
Just so you (and others) know: if your bacon has rind, that rind is the skin of the pig. Since pigs have hair/bristles and the skin is usually used to make chicharones (cracklins; pork rinds), boiling water is poured on the skin and the pig bristles are scraped off (shave and a haircut, I guess). Sometimes a few bristles are missed.
Since most bacon is sold without the rind, you usually don't run into it - but you did. Just trim the piece of rind off.
I am weird about food so now I am turned off, and that was the only bacon I could find that was local and supposed to be all natural.0 -
You can never have too much bacon.
I eat about 2+ pounds a week.
I purchase uncured bacon. Free of the nitrates, nitrite etc...
I even made a taco shell out of bacon. My kids got a kick out of it.
http://dudefoods.com/bacon-weave-taco/
Here is how I react when bacon goes on sale!
http://whatshouldwecallpaleolife.tumblr.com/post/49598026819/right-before-my-dad-told-me-he-is-concerned-that-i-eat0 -
Uncured bacon has nitrates.I purchase uncured bacon. Free of the nitrates, nitrite etc...
Rather than using sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, the manufacturer uses celery (or kale) powder, which naturally has nitrates. Because it is not a separate chemical, they do not have to list it. Microbial action converts some of the nitrates to nitrites.
You got to read the small print on the label.
Simply put - if it is still pink after you've cooked it, it contains nitrates. 'Uncured' bacon is called that by legal definition; cured meats have enough nitrates/nitrites to be shelf-stable at room temperature, while uncured only has enough nitrates to keep the meat pink - and must be refrigerated.
If you want bacon that is completely nitrate-free, you have to buy pork belly or side pork and salt it yourself.0 -
Does anyone know why the nitrites/nitrates in bacon are worse than the ones in celery, or saliva? I'm curious to know why bacon nitrates/ites are so bad for you but the other ones aren't?0
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Does anyone know why the nitrites/nitrates in bacon are worse than the ones in celery, or saliva? I'm curious to know why bacon nitrates/ites are so bad for you but the other ones aren't?
I guess reading from monkeydharma, they're just as bad. They fooled me, I bought the kind containing celery juice! But my usual 14.99 a lb bacon is too expensive for me to eat it every day, waaaaah... =(0 -
Does anyone know why the nitrites/nitrates in bacon are worse than the ones in celery, or saliva? I'm curious to know why bacon nitrates/ites are so bad for you but the other ones aren't?
Without entering into the debate over how dangerous nitrates and nitrites actually are.....it's all chemistry and biology.
Biology:
We all eat nitrates in the vegetables and fruits we consume. Nearly all of that is converted into nitrites by microbial action in our guts. Nitrates and nitrites have a variety of regulatory uses in the body (blood pressure, antioxidants, etc), so the issue isn't "is it poisonous to us" but rather "how much before it becomes detrimental to us". Studies have shown that nitRITE is indeed a carcinogen - the debate is over how much.
My personal opinion is that as hunter/gatherers, our bodies are adapted to the amount of nitRATES we consume from fruits and vegetables - and the amount of nitRITES we create from that. BUT - the additional nitrates we eat in cured meats and other products is a No Man's Land: a lesser amount is probably not a problem, but a lot of it can be. Since the debate is precisely what the OP asked (how much is too much), prudence suggests that eating less is better than eating more.
Chemistry:
Conventional bacon uses nitrates in the form of the chemical sodium nitrate; to minimize the time necessary to cure the pork, it also has the chemical sodium nitrate added. This allows the right amount to be added to eliminate spoilage.
Uncured bacon uses the nitrates found in high-nitrate vegetable powder/juice like celery or kale; microbial action converts the nitrates to nitrites, and salt is added to provide the taste we expect.
One form isn't necessarily better than the other: there is the trade-off of uncured bacon having a variable rate of conversion of nitrates to nitrites by microbes, which means it cannot be legally called cured, and should be refrigerated. Because conventional bacon has the necessary amounts of both nitrates AND nitrites added at the git-go, it is technically safer - but at the cost of slightly higher dosage of nitrites. Plus some people get all gooey inside over the natural process vs the 'bad' chemicals. It's the same thing, folks.
Bottom line:
Cured meats (including those using natural means) aren't really paleo. Curing as a process wasn't developed until after the invention of saltpeter - and that was waaay after the development of agriculture. While I loves mah bacon as much as the next person, the reality is that I use it more as a flavoring agent and weekly treat than as a regular meat course. I buy my pork whole-pig from a neighbor, so when I get a new batch, all of my bacon and hams are fresh - no curing of any kind, and I eat to my heart's content. When I run out, I will buy the best quality bacon I can find - conventional vs uncured doesn't matter, but the amount of sugars used in the cure does. I just use less - including using bacon fat for flavoring.0 -
Oh, and to prevent the argument that cavemen were curing meats...
Smoking meats and salting meats to retard spoilage has been done since the invention of fire.
The curing process of using nitrates and nitrites wasn't developed until after saltpeter was discovered/invented.0 -
I even made a taco shell out of bacon. My kids got a kick out of it.
http://dudefoods.com/bacon-weave-taco/
The picture of the taco shell is just about the best thing I have ever seen. Of course, it's lunch time right now. lol Check it out! You won't be disappointed. I'm gonna try it soon.0 -
Here is an interesting article I found regarding nitrites, you might like it too :P Love Chris Kresser!
http://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon
Love it!0
