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General Category => Bacon, BBQ, Beef, And More => Topic started by: ChrisSmolinski on April 26, 2019, 0953 UTC
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Beyond just being loaded with “artery-clogging saturated fat” and sodium, bacon has been long considered unhealthy due to the use of nitrates and nitrites in the curing process. Many conventional doctors, and well-meaning friends and relatives, will say you’re basically asking for a heart attack or cancer by eating the food many Paleo enthusiasts lovingly refer to as “meat candy”.
The belief that nitrates and nitrates cause serious health problems has been entrenched in popular consciousness and media. Watch this video clip to see Steven Colbert explain how the coming bacon shortage will prolong our lives thanks to reduced nitrates in our diets.
In fact, the study that originally connected nitrates with cancer risk and caused the scare in the first place has since been discredited after being subjected to a peer review. There have been major reviews of the scientific literature that found no link between nitrates or nitrites and human cancers, or even evidence to suggest that they may be carcinogenic. Further, recent research suggests that nitrates and nitrites may not only be harmless, they may be beneficial, especially for immunity and heart health. Confused yet? Let’s explore this issue further.
When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites. On average, about 93% of nitrites we get from food come from vegetables. It may shock you to learn that one serving of arugula, two servings of butter lettuce, and four servings of celery or beets all have more nitrite than 467 hot dogs. (2) And your own saliva has more nitrites than all of them! So before you eliminate cured meats from your diet, you might want to address your celery intake. And try not to swallow so frequently.
And if you think you can avoid nitrates and nitrites by eating so-called “nitrite- and nitrate-free” hot dogs and bacon, don’t be fooled. These products use “natural” sources of the same chemical like celery and beet juice and sea salt, and are no more free from nitrates and nitrites than standard cured meats. In fact, they may even contain more nitrates and nitrites when cured using “natural” preservatives.
Full article: https://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon/
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Make sure your pork products are properly processed, cured, and cooked, it will be safe. I got a case of hookworm at four from some bacon from a relatives on-farm smokehouse. I remember both the worms and the cure like it was yesterday. It was rough!
Hookworm is one of the reasons farmers used to dig their privies at least six feet deep. Those tough little bastards and their larvae will come right up through the soil if privies are shallower. When commune types arrived here in the late 60's they didn't know the old rule of privy depth. Hookworm was rife on all but the ones that had a good number of Jewish folks who refused to raise swine.
Under-cured/under-cooked pork is much more dangerous than the nitrates/nitrites in it. If the latter raises the risk of death a bit, it does so over a long period of time. The first can put you in the grave not long after you consume it, if your immune system isn't up to snuff.
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Make sure your pork products are properly processed, cured, and cooked, it will be safe. I got a case of hookworm at four from some bacon from a relatives on-farm smokehouse. I remember both the worms and the cure like it was yesterday. It was rough!
I seem to recall reading that the only cases of parasite infections in pork in recent memory are from small farms/processors. It has been effectively eradicated from the large scale commercial producers.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs5-uuCDPtM
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Q: What is the nitrate of sodium?
A: Half the day rate.
Beyond just being loaded with “artery-clogging saturated fat” and sodium, bacon has been long considered unhealthy due to the use of nitrates and nitrites in the curing process. Many conventional doctors, and well-meaning friends and relatives, will say you’re basically asking for a heart attack or cancer by eating the food many Paleo enthusiasts lovingly refer to as “meat candy”.
The belief that nitrates and nitrates cause serious health problems has been entrenched in popular consciousness and media. Watch this video clip to see Steven Colbert explain how the coming bacon shortage will prolong our lives thanks to reduced nitrates in our diets.
In fact, the study that originally connected nitrates with cancer risk and caused the scare in the first place has since been discredited after being subjected to a peer review. There have been major reviews of the scientific literature that found no link between nitrates or nitrites and human cancers, or even evidence to suggest that they may be carcinogenic. Further, recent research suggests that nitrates and nitrites may not only be harmless, they may be beneficial, especially for immunity and heart health. Confused yet? Let’s explore this issue further.
When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites. On average, about 93% of nitrites we get from food come from vegetables. It may shock you to learn that one serving of arugula, two servings of butter lettuce, and four servings of celery or beets all have more nitrite than 467 hot dogs. (2) And your own saliva has more nitrites than all of them! So before you eliminate cured meats from your diet, you might want to address your celery intake. And try not to swallow so frequently.
And if you think you can avoid nitrates and nitrites by eating so-called “nitrite- and nitrate-free” hot dogs and bacon, don’t be fooled. These products use “natural” sources of the same chemical like celery and beet juice and sea salt, and are no more free from nitrates and nitrites than standard cured meats. In fact, they may even contain more nitrates and nitrites when cured using “natural” preservatives.
Full article: https://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon/
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Make sure your pork products are properly processed, cured, and cooked, it will be safe. I got a case of hookworm at four from some bacon from a relatives on-farm smokehouse. I remember both the worms and the cure like it was yesterday. It was rough!
I seem to recall reading that the only cases of parasite infections in pork in recent memory are from small farms/processors. It has been effectively eradicated from the large scale commercial producers.
Hookworm was why most people who kept pigs wouldn't let their kids run barefoot around the farm.
My three earliest clear memories were chewing through the TV cord when I was teething, (saved by bottle of cold milk in the fridge!), the hookworm incident just after I turned four, and priming a pump and learning that there were sand hornets nesting in the the cistern just before I turned five. Five year olds can't outrun angry sand hornets. Those things nearly knocked me over with every sting, the stings hurt for weeks. I was one massive multi colored bruised welt when I entered kindergarten that year. Some of the aides thought I was being beaten at home!