bjones
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Most health experts agree that bacon is bad for you, but many say it is not so bad in comparison with other things we do to our bodies. Bacon is often named as one of the most delicious foods in existence, and this may play a part in its vilification. We do tend to suppose that all delicious foods are inherently bad, because usually it is true. The tastiness of sweet and fatty foods has been passed down from the bygone era where sugars and fats were difficult to obtain and required for survival.
To get to the truth about bacon, we have to look at some of the facts. Bacon contains four primary elements that are targeted as being bad:
Saturated fat – Saturated fat makes up most of the fat in bacon. It has been linked to clogged arteries, heart disease and obesity.
Cholesterol – Cholesterol is a real risk, and bacon contains enough to make a difference in your life expectancy. It is estimated that increasing your cholesterol by 200 mg increases your risk of death by 37 percent. Three strips of bacon has 27 mg of cholesterol. This means that eating three bacon strips per day may increase your risk of death by nearly 5 percent.
Sodium – Sodium is not very harmful in itself, but it can be harmful if other conditions exist, such as cardiovascular disease or obesity.
Nitrites – Nitrites are used as preservatives in bacon and other cured meats, like hot dogs. A high intake of nitrites has been linked to two major medical conditions: colorectal cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Statistically, if 100,000 people eat 3 slices of bacon per day, two will die of colorectal cancer directly related to eating bacon.
On the other hand, if you ask the National Pork Board if bacon is bad for you, you will hear a different response. Some say bacon is actually good for you, and they cite such statistics as the following:
• Bacon boosts the intelligence of prenatal children.
• Nearly half of bacon fat is monounsaturated, or so-called healthy fat.
• Pigs are now fed Omega-3 fatty acids, which are passed on to bacon eaters.
• Bacon is full of healthy protein.
While statistics such as these make you think twice about how bad bacon is for you, it should not persuade to disregard all of the negative facts about bacon.
 Posted 4596 day ago
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