Sausages and Bacon

minstine
minstine Posts: 38 Member
edited November 22 in Food and Nutrition
Is it OK "health wise" to eat one or two bacon strips or 2 sausages a day? I eat one or the other with 2 hard boiled eggs everyday. It really helps with me with the protein amount. I can't have dairy, and soy or whey protein powders and i don't feel like eating chicken for breakfast.
«1

Replies

  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
    I like chicken sausage. lower cals/fat. Still yummy.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Certainly it's fine. Why wouldn't it be?
  • minstine
    minstine Posts: 38 Member
    do they fit your calories and macros for the day/week? are you eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veg?

    Yes they fit and yes I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegs. I just heard they can cause cancer.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    minstine wrote: »
    Is it OK "health wise" to eat one or two bacon strips or 2 sausages a day? I eat one or the other with 2 hard boiled eggs everyday. It really helps with me with the protein amount. I can't have dairy, and soy or whey protein powders and i don't feel like eating chicken for breakfast.

    Ever try turkey bacon or turkey sausage?
  • minstine
    minstine Posts: 38 Member
    minstine wrote: »
    Is it OK "health wise" to eat one or two bacon strips or 2 sausages a day? I eat one or the other with 2 hard boiled eggs everyday. It really helps with me with the protein amount. I can't have dairy, and soy or whey protein powders and i don't feel like eating chicken for breakfast.

    Ever try turkey bacon or turkey sausage?

    I bet i would like them. It's not really the calories I'm concerned about. It was cause they are so processed and contain nitraites.
  • minstine
    minstine Posts: 38 Member
    minstine wrote: »
    do they fit your calories and macros for the day/week? are you eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veg?

    Yes they fit and yes I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegs. I just heard they can cause cancer.

    everything causes cancer these days...

    Lol true...
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    I love me a bacon thread!

    Seriously, though, it's hard to make a definitive declaration apart from context. If bacon and sausage help you balance your macros, that's good. (Personally, I rely on high fat snacks because my meals tend to be too low on fat.) How much red meat & meat processed with nitrates are in your diet in addition to this breakfast food? If the daily nitrates are a concern, how would you feel about rotating them with other meats that aren't cured? Eggs with crab cakes are pretty yummy. Shrimp salads are often garnished with hard boiled egg. Pulled pork hash with eggs is a family favorite at home, although in restaurants they do like chicken at breakfast (fried, with waffles, so not the macros you're going for). One of my quick favorites is hard boiled eggs on 100g black beans -- packed with fiber and more protein but less fat than bacon gives you.

    A wide variety of foods is considered healthy in part because it captures a broader spectrum of micronutrients but also because it dilutes the risks of any particular food.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I like to have bacon & eggs but also like to have oatmeal with fresh fruit and nuts just to balance it out.
  • minstine
    minstine Posts: 38 Member
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    I love me a bacon thread!

    Seriously, though, it's hard to make a definitive declaration apart from context. If bacon and sausage help you balance your macros, that's good. (Personally, I rely on high fat snacks because my meals tend to be too low on fat.) How much red meat & meat processed with nitrates are in your diet in addition to this breakfast food? If the daily nitrates are a concern, how would you feel about rotating them with other meats that aren't cured? Eggs with crab cakes are pretty yummy. Shrimp salads are often garnished with hard boiled egg. Pulled pork hash with eggs is a family favorite at home, although in restaurants they do like chicken at breakfast (fried, with waffles, so not the macros you're going for). One of my quick favorites is hard boiled eggs on 100g black beans -- packed with fiber and more protein but less fat than bacon gives you.

    A wide variety of foods is considered healthy in part because it captures a broader spectrum of micronutrients but also because it dilutes the risks of any particular food.

    Yea. I could try the beans good idea! I dont eat other nitrate foods just on occasion. If i do eat a hotdog I'll be sure not to eat bacon or sausage for breakfast. That's just too much grease!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    oh sure
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
    I cut down on it due to high cholesterol. Turkey sausage is good but in my personal opinion, turkey bacon is like eating cardboard. Lol.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited October 2017
    If you're worried about sodium nitrites and nitrates in bacon and sausages, buy fresh pork butt and grind and stuff your own sausages and buy fresh pork belly to make your own bacon.

    You can leave out the pink curing salt (which includes sodium nitrate and nitrate and is used as much to preserve the color of the meat as it is to prolong its shelf life) and include whatever spices/flavorings that you like. It is actually quite easy to do.

    BTW, the recipe that I use to cure 3# of pork belly to make bacon only calls for 1/2 teaspoon (along w/4.5 teaspoons of Kosher salt and other ingredients) in 3/4 cup of water to marinate and cure the meat before smoking.

    1/2 teaspoon of curing salt isn't all that much and not all of that would be absorbed by the meat. So, I really don't think its anything to worry about.

    But, if it still bothers you, just leave it out and just add 5 teaspoons of Kosher salt instead. The bacon will have a weird and unappetizing grey color but it will otherwise taste the same.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited October 2017
    There are companies that make nitrate free bacon, I don't know about sausage.

    The overall increase in cancer risk isn't high - as was quoted above, it goes up from 5 to 6 percent - but if that troubles you, you can seek alternatives. Speaking for myself, I love bacon and hate sausage, and eat a couple of pieces of bacon about twice a week. I also eat lunch meat and beef jerky, which contain nitrates. But I would probably avoid eating bacon for breakfast every day, lunch meat sandwiches every day, and beef jerky snacks every afternoon.

    Are you unable to tolerate all dairy? Some people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate yogurt since it has low amounts of lactose. There are also sheep and goat dairy products.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    If you are that concerned, mix it up with other meats. You don't have to just eat chicken!

    What about ground turkey? Season it with some pepper and maple syrup and it would taste similar to a frozen sausage. Meatballs are another good idea. They have chicken and turkey meatballs if you don't want to eat beef ones. I'll second that beans are a great option. You can do a scramble with eggs, beans and salsa with avocado. Yummy. Packets of tuna or salmon are easy and convenient. Or, go the vegetarian route and try utilizing tofu, seitan and tempeh.

    And, try cottage cheese. I can't do milk or yogurt but cottage cheese is okay for me.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    Applegate Farms Naturals sausage and bacon products here in the USA are nitrate free, they have a product finder on their site. Target carries Applegate products in this area. I'd call myself an occasional bacon and sausage eater.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    Lean59man wrote: »
    Eating bacon everyday is probably not a good idea.

    Once a week is ok.

    Why?
This discussion has been closed.