what's the deal with bacon?

[maryesther]

I'm brand new to this board, forgive me if this is the wrong forum to post this question to! My husband and I have been doing the PPLP since September and have had great results with it. One of the concerns I have is how much bacon we are eating. We each have several slices for breakfast, along with eggs. I also give my daughter some every morning. I am aware that bacon has nitrates (or nitrites?) in it, and have heard nothing but how bad they are for you. I don't really know why they are supposed to be so bad, or how it is they affect you. Is there someone out there that can explain it to me? Also, are there other "breakfast meats" that would be a better choice. Thanks in advance.

[LisaS]

you can get nitrate/nitrite free bacon if you want - you have to look for it but it is available -

[LisaS]

as I recall, the basic "issue" with nitrites is that it is possible that one of their breakdown products might combine with amines to make compounds known as n-nitrosamines - which are carcinogenic. It can happen if the meat is cooked at high heat - but again, how many of these compounds are created would be the variable to investigate. It would be possible for these to also form in the body, but I don't think anyone knows that this actually happens.

here are some links:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html
http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhealthinformation/a/baconhealth.htm
http://food.oregonstate.edu/c/nitrite.html
http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read,2003,4768.html

you could always switch to fresh sausages (homemade or store bought) that have no nitrates. Not sure if there are many nitrates in Canadian Bacon/Back bacon - but it is a tasty alternative too.

[Ogden]

You can get nitrate/nitirite-free bacon at Whole Foods and Trader joes. It is more expensive though.

[LisaS]

or you could go retro and have steak-n-eggs for breakfast with a few slices of tomato :)

[ira500]

Trader Joe's sells a nitrate free, free range turkey bacon that I actually prefer to real bacon, because it's so meaty.

[mcsblues]

Many vegetables are also high in nitrates which potentially can form nitrosamines in the body, but higher vegetable intake is protective when it comes to the cancers thought to be associated with high processed meat consumption. The difference appears to be the antioxidants incorporated in the vegetables such as vitamin C which inhibit the formation in the body of nitrosamines.

So apart from sourcing nitrite free bacon, you could add some tomatoes to your breakfast regime or take your supplements at the same time.

[Gaelen]

or eat chicken/turkey sausage, fresh ham, or...ssshhhh...don't say it too loud...go *meatless* at breakfast time or take your a.m. protein from the sea and treat yourself to some lox, smoked salmon or trout, finnan haddie or creamed herring. Or nut muffins. Or protein shakes. Or baked ricotta cheesecake. Or cottage cheese and berries.

The first meal of the day doesn't have to be about bacon, eggs or any combination thereof. ;)

[Bogie]

What's the deal with bacon?

It's good, and it was forbidden to so many for so long.

Nitrates, schmitrates. It ain't carbage, so that's good enough for me. Now if I could just figure out how to do it on the grill like the girlz did... I usually just get a big shallow cake pan and put some aluminum foil on it, and toss it in the oven for about 25 minutes...

[Gaelen]

Now if I could just figure out how to do it on the grill like the girlz did... I usually just get a big shallow cake pan and put some aluminum foil on it, and toss it in the oven for about 25 minutes...

Bogie, when I've done it 'on the grill,' I've had the most success using a double-burner size rectangular griddle that has 1/2" high sides to trap the grease and prevent those distracting flare ups that *not* trapping the grease produces.

OTOH, if you've got wet wood issues, a little grease flareup could be just what that fire needs...

[jkmfrog]

I'm a fan of pork loin or pork chops for breakfast. Less salty.

[Mitra]

I like to cure pork loin in a salt/spice mix to get the bacon flavour while having control over what goes into it. Though I'm more likely to have it as ham in the evening than as bacon for breakfast.

[Gortok]

I'm brand new to this board, forgive me if this is the wrong forum to post this question to! My husband and I have been doing the PPLP since September and have had great results with it. One of the concerns I have is how much bacon we are eating. We each have several slices for breakfast, along with eggs. I also give my daughter some every morning. I am aware that bacon has nitrates (or nitrites?) in it, and have heard nothing but how bad they are for you. I don't really know why they are supposed to be so bad, or how it is they affect you. Is there someone out there that can explain it to me? Also, are there other "breakfast meats" that would be a better choice. Thanks in advance.

Personally, I would reserve bacon for a treat. Nitrates aside, it's got waaaay too much sodium in it, especially if you are eating more than the 2 slices of whatever that is a serving.

There's really no reason you have to stick to typical breakfast meats. Breakfast is probably the most screwed up meal in our culture (most people just eat straight carbs). I had ground buffalo (don't knock it until you've tried it... ) stir-fried with veggies this morning and made enough to take as lunch.

[Mitra]

Dr Mike Eades suggests salt isn't quite as bad as we've been led to believe. He did a blog on it (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=220) in February this year.

Some people seem to have fluid retention if they eat excess sodium. If it affects you that way, then you may prefer to be cautious, but it isn't something I worry about.

[Bogie]

Fluid retention? Better than fat retention.

Or maybe you just want an excuse to chow those three bagels...

[Karen J]

Welshire Farms makes a nitrite free bacon that is really tasty. You can get it at Trader Joe's too. I think it's about 3.99 for a 12 oz package. My family can eat the entire package in one sitting.

However, if you cook it in the oven you also get to save all that nice, nitrite free fat to use for other cooking purposes. Nice perk.;)

[Texasgrl]

I bought some nitrate free bacon at Costco last time I was there............

[Gortok]

Dr Mike Eades suggests salt isn't quite as bad as we've been led to believe. He did a blog on it (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=220) in February this year.

Some people seem to have fluid retention if they eat excess sodium. If it affects you that way, then you may prefer to be cautious, but it isn't something I worry about.

I guess I'm more from the Loren Cordain school of thought (humans didn't evolve eating salt on a regular basis, which implies that we certainly don't need it except in trace quantities). To me scientific studies always seem like man's attempts to try really hard to prove something is true because he wants to believe it. (Coffee is good for you, chocolate is good for you, salt is good for you...)

[Gaelen]

I guess I'm more from the Loren Cordain school of thought (humans didn't evolve eating salt on a regular basis, which implies that we certainly don't need it except in trace quantities).

Doesn't salt pre-date man? It's a mineral element of which this planet is partially composed, and we've had access to salt in some form for as long as man has existed. It's also one of the four taste sensations (along with sour, bitter and sweet) that exist in our tastebuds. Odd that we would have a hard-wired recognition of a taste we didn't evolve to eat, don't you think?

[hawk]

YOu guys make me hungry for bacon when ever I see this up on the board. I'm going to make some!

[Mitra]

I've got some belly pork curing in the fridge for bacon, Hawk. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Inez]

I can't believe I missed this thread earlier because I love bacon! I've probably been eating 4 slices of bacon most mornings for breakfast since I started low-carbing over 4 years ago (I couldn't stand eggs and I had to do something to make them palatable!) Anyway, there was a discussion on another forum a while ago about the danger of nitrates in bacon, which I read very carefully (being such a heavy consumer of bacon) and two things caught my attention -- first of all, research has shown that nitrates are actually helpful in your stomach in killing a lot of nasty bacteria like e coli (spinach and bacon salad, anyone?) and second, bacon manufacturers put a form of vitamin C into bacon and cold cuts now to mitigate the cancer-causing potential of nitrates. Check the ingredients on bacon and cold cuts and see if there's ascorbic acid listed on the label. I'll also add that Fran McCullough had a delightful introduction to her section on bacon in her "Good Fat Book" writing that (to paraphrase), one of her goals in writing the Good Fat Book was to find that there were nutritious things about bacon (hooray for Fran!) and that she was happy to report that there were many nutritious qualities to bacon fat. I don't remember the details, but bacon can definitely qualify as a good fat -- so enjoy. Like I said, I've been eating a lot of it for four years now, and it hasn't killed me yet!

[Anniesnan]

I'm going to look for some of the nitrate free bacon at Whole Foods. If it tastes like my "usual" bacon, I'll eat it. Otherwise, I'll still eat my normal bacon and make sure I cut back on cold cuts.

Nothing makes a good substitute for bacon, for me. Hubby eats good sausages - I can't stand them. Same for any non-pork bacon. The bacon and a drop of half and half in my coffee are the two things I have in the morning that keep me feeling pampered all day ;).

[Bugzita]

I love bacon, nitrates nonwithstanding.

I just buy the pre-cooked bacon and nuke it for 15 seconds. In the a.m., I always take the path of least resistance.

It tastes just as good as the regular stuff, and I don't have all that grease to get rid of.

Yum! :)

Bugzita