The science behind WHY Bacon is healthy for the human body. By Dr. Mercola Just to be clear, although I have cautioned against the consumption of pork, I am NOT anti-pork (or anti-bacon). My concern about pork is that you are cautious about the source of the pork you consume—just as you should be cautious about the source of your beef, eggs and poultry. If your pork is pasture-raised and the pigs live in their natural setting eating pig-appropriate food, then pork can be a nutritious part of your diet. Pork is arguably a healthful meat from a biochemical perspective, and if consumed from a humanely raised pastured hog like those on Polyface Farm and prepared properly, there is likely minimal risk of infection. However, virtually all of the pork youre likely to consume will not fit these criteria—it is extremely difficult to find. If you can find a source that does it right, then by all means, enjoy! Is it Safe to Eat Bacon? Sadly lots of people assume Harvards warnings must be valid. Red meat, bacon and other tasty high-fat foods, after all, have long enjoyed reputations as being both delicious and dangerous. Indeed, the bacon question has been argued for years, now with most non-vegan internet bloggers concluding that bacons not so bad if used to add a bit of flavor and crunchiness to healthy foods such as salads and vegetables. Comedian Jim Gaffigan spoofed this on Late Night with Conan OBrien when he described bits of bacon as the fairy dust of the foodcommunity and eating a salad sprinkled with bacon as panning for gold. A bit more bacon – even a few strips – sometimes even gets the Food-Police stamp of approval, provided its 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 its firm but not soft. While that last sounds a bit naughty, its actually anti-fat 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 wed like? Naughty propositions to be sure, but ones the Naughty Nutritionist™ is prepared to argue. And that promise is not just a strip tease! What You Need to Know about Healthy Fats Bacons primary asset is its fat, and that fat— surprise! – is primarily monounsaturated. Fifty percent of the fat in bacon is monounsaturated, mostly consisting of oleic acid, the type so valued in olive oil. About three percent of that is palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturate with valuable antimicrobial properties. About 40 percent of bacon fat is saturated, a level that worries fat phobics, but is the reason why bacon fat is relatively stable and unlikely to go rancid under normal storage and cooking conditions. Thats important, given the fact that the remaining 10 percent is in the valuable but unstable form of polyunsaturates.7 Pork fat also contains a novel form of phosphatidylcholine that possesses antioxidant activity superior to Vitamin E. This may be one reason why lard and bacon fat are relatively stable and not prone to rancidity from free radicals.8 Bacon fat from pastured pigs also comes replete with fat-soluble vitamin D, provided its bacon from foraging pigs that romp outdoors in the sun for most of year. Factory-farmed pigs kept indoors and fed rations from soy, casein, corn meal, and other grains, are likely to show low levels of Vitamin D. articles.mercola/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/03/eating-bacon.aspx
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 15:17:55 +0000
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