Good news! Those fatty, salty strips of pork that everyone goes wild for? They’re actually good for you! That’s right, bacon is a health food. Pay no mind to the naysayers who try to tell you that bacon is full of deadly cholesterol, just waiting to clog your arteries. They’re relying on correlational evidence and faulty science. Newer studies are finding that saturated fat is not only not harmful, it’s beneficial.
A Quick Guide to Fats
That’s great news for bacon-lovers, because most of the fat it contains is saturated or monounsaturated, which are preferable to polyunsaturated fats, because they are much more stable. Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) tend to oxidize when exposed to heat and light and eating oxidized fat leads to oxidized cholesterol in our blood, which is dangerous. It is the oxidized cholesterol that is likely to latch onto the inside of our arteries, causing inflammation and plaque build-up.
Cured Meats
Despite the healthy serving of fat and protein you get from bacon, everything should be consumed in moderation. Unless you really trust your source, bacon is generally sold as a cured meat, which means it sometimes has preservatives added to it. If you get a good brand, the only preservative you’ll find is salt. Although bacon does tend to be very high in salt, if you’re eating real food and avoiding the packaged stuff, the salt in bacon should not be a problem for you and may even be beneficial in keeping your sodium/potassium levels in balance.
For more reasons to eat your bacon, check out Mark’s guide here.
