A Quick Guide to Bacon
Thin, thick, smoky, salty, hearty, meaty, maple, chewy or crispy. Different strokes, as they say. Nonetheless, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone – especially a Primal type – who doesn’t sing bacon’s praises. (Too bad so many CW followers eschew this fine delicacy.) Nonetheless, I wanted to address some questions dangling out there in the MDA comments and forum. Is bacon an indulgence or an acceptable stock ingredient in Primal eating? Do we need to shell out for nitrite-free? What about organic? Is there really such a thing as grass-fed pork?
A couple of weeks ago in the How Much Is Too Much post, I joked that there was no such thing as too much bacon. As much as I love my pork belly, I should clarify that the comment was tongue-in-cheek. Most folks got the jest, but it’s worth highlighting. When it comes to bacon, the fat is delectable. The protein is functional. The taste – phenomenal. The salt, however, (as a number of you pointed out) can be the problem. Although brands vary significantly, bacon generally averages around 1000 mg of sodium per 3.5 oz. serving. As I mentioned last week, I think reining in the sodium intake is a worthwhile endeavor.
Depending on your size, blood pressure and physical tolerance, I recommend staying somewhere below or within the 1500-2300 upper limit range. A Primal diet naturally nixes the obscene majority of sodium sources: soda, processed foods, etc. Unless you’re liberal with the salt shaker or indulge an addiction to sea vegetables each day, I think there’s room for bacon on a fairly regular basis. Personally, I often eat a few strips with an omelet in the morning, but just as often I use it as a garnish – a dash of bacon pieces in a salad, or in a scallop dish, for example.
Now for nitrites. We’ve admittedly hedged our bets on these additives in the past, but I’ll agree that shelling out for “naturally cured” bacon (or other cured products) isn’t worth the extra cost. Some folks like the taste or simply trust the use of ingredients like celery salt (which contains its own nitrates from the celery) more than a conventional product. Others buy nitrite free because the bacon tends to contain fewer additives in general or because they want to support local or organic farmers and nitrite-free is what they offer. Nonetheless, it appears to be of little consequence.
Just a quick and dirty review… We take in nitrates every day with our vegetables and, to a much smaller degree, with cured meats. Microorganisms in food and in our own digestive tracts convert some nitrates into nitrites, and some of these nitrites can then form nitrosamines, known carcinogens. Vegetables have sufficient antioxidant power that this small amount of conversion is inconsequential. As far as cured meats go, they generally only make up about a 10th of our nitrate intake, and a serving of vegetables or vitamins C and E can further inhibit the unwanted conversion (hence the orange juice recommendation some people follow with their bacon).
When it comes to bacon (pumped but not dry cured), the USDA responded a number of decades ago to concern about nitrosamine formation during the cooking process. Sodium and potassium nitrites were capped at safer levels. Vitamin C was then added to most bacon formulas. The departments’ research suggests that these adjustments prevent nitrosamine formation in medium cooked bacon (340 degrees F, 3 minutes cook time for each side), but well done and burnt bacon still pose some risk for nitrosamine conversion. Moral of the story: if you like well done bacon and choose naturally or conventionally cured, pop some vitamin C with your meal.
Finally, how could we do a post on bacon – that savory Primal treat – (let alone include pictures) without talking sources as well. Of course, bacon is one of those fine luxuries available in any market, but why not share the love today by suggesting your favorite brands (and cooking tips if you’re so inclined). As for my own preference, I’ve never been disappointed in any of the organic and/or pastured bacon I’ve found at my local farmers’ market, but I’m not too picky when it comes to bacon. (One of my favorite quotes from Cook’s Illustrated: “Bad bacon is something of an oxymoron.”)
As always, I’d recommend finding pork that’s antibiotic and hormone-free. Check the ingredients and look for the most natural list you can get. The more commercial the product, the more likely that list contains additives you don’t need. (The specially labeled “microwave” bacon isn’t worth picking up off the shelf.) Beyond that, there are organic options and “pastured,” which usually means part pasture and part grain/other vegetarian feed. If you’re choosing between fully organic or partially pastured, it can be a toss up. There are plenty of options, however, for pastured and organic/almost organic. Check out the Eat Wild and Local Harvest sites for pastured options in your neck of the woods, and for a little entertainment have fun perusing this bacon of the month club. There’s no assurance of pastured or antibiotic-free, but how can you beat a complimentary pig nose?
Thanks for reading, and I’ll look forward to reading everyone’s comments and suggestions!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Pigs and humans are mono-gastric, meaning they have only one stomach and therefore cannot digest grasses and need to be fed grains etc, unlike cows that can as they are ruminant and have 4 stomachs.
ps. bacon is my favourite vegetable!!
No, just having one stomach doesn’t stop animals from digesting grass and similar vegetable matter. There are lots of other tricks to do it, as well as the ones ruminants use. Horses digest grass comparatively inefficiently, as evolution favoured keeping them light and fast. Rabbits and guinea pigs etc. run their food through twice. Some very big animals just have very large, slow digestive systems that can cope even with just one stomach, since it gets to work on the food longer. And so on.
ooops, humans don’t need to be fed grains, ignore that part. C:
_There is_ such thing as grass-fed pork!
Alas, you’ll find it way south in Uruguay. Near the border with Brazil is where I spotted them. Yum!
Pigs are omnivores, just like chickens, so “pastured” is the operative term for raising them without adulteration. Some may live mainly on vegetation, but they are evolved to be foragers and eat whatever comes along.
OK. I will be the one who says it. My interest with the Primal lifestyle is losing weight. Although I probably would like it, I have no intention of going out of my way to find meats (or produce) that are – grass fed, organic, etc.
I just want to drops pounds so that I can be more active and athletic.
Generally speaking, I just feel better without the insane carb cycle wreaking havoc on my system. My energy levels are more regulated eating primal. I just feel more balanced.
But there are only so many things a simple guy can keep track of. I could drive myself crazy trying to avoid everything “they” say is going to kill me. I will just try to have some ultra simple guidelines and take my chances that “regular” bacon (and other meats) won’t drive me into my grave early.
I know this comment will draw heat from some, but I know there are plenty who are thinking the same thing as me.
So, I guess I am not a purist. What are you gonna do?
—
ps. I also eat peanut butter. Great with fruit for primal snacks. I get whatever generic store brand is available that has a low carb / sugar content.
Bravo! I’ll second this thought.
There’s a few things keeping me away from completely adopting Primal, and this is one of them. I won’t eat bacon at any time of the day, much less for breakfast. (I’d explain my very valid, and completely science-related reasons, but something tells me based on the responses I read here, that bacon is some kind of religion to many of you, so…)
you don’t have to eat bacon to ‘completely’ follow a primal lifestyle any more than you have to eat kidneys (or anything else for that matter) to completely follow a primal lifestyle. As far as I can tell, you do need to cut out dairy, grains, and a few other things and ideas. I would NEVER force anyone to eat bacon, anymore than I would force people to eat vegetarian or vegan or even primal. I happen to like bacon..alot. I also happen to have vegetarian and vegan meals occasionally (I should post my brother-in-law’s beet casserole recipe).
Here’s to health! Cheers!
I recently watched a PBS program (forget the title, Alan Lada hosted) which followed scientists who are studying Neanderthal Man in Europe. Through testing of bones they have determined that these early people ate only meat…no fish and no vegetation. I thought it was interesting.
Most people cook/fry bacon to death. By the time it’s crisp it’s destroyed and the fat is damaged. Cook it very little more than warming it, more precisely, to where it’s just begun to release fat and now you have it at its maximum taste. Fry it to crisp and you’ve insulted the pig and shown that you really prefer bacon flavored potato chips.
Love your site by the way. I agree with you on bacon overall. In regards to your mention of the salt/sodium content: have you ever read “The Body’s Many Cries For Water”? I’m curious to see if you agree with Dr Batmanghelidj’s take on unrefined salt’s benefits to the body. Thanks for taking the time to reply to all of these!
What about the sugar in bacon (and for that matter, what about the sugar in smoked turkey breast)? I would love to include bacon in my Primal Diet. Please clarify why it’s ok. Tx.
This question is pure bacon sacrelige….
What would be a good alternative if you keep Kosher and don’t eat pork?
Just read the pdf on food choices for a month of Paleo being held by the folks at DailyBurn
Unfathomably I found “Bacon” on their Stay Away From list.
I’ll stick with Mark’s plan.
If grock walked into a cave and smelled bacon sizzling on a hot rock, trust me, he would know what to do.
“If grock walked into a cave and smelled bacon sizzling on a hot rock, trust me, he would know what to do.”
… go “yuck – whats that smell?” while backing out of the cave? I really can’t think of a smell (or taste) that can kill my appetite like hot fried bacon can. Except maybe cold, fried bacon.
Really, people need to either simply admit they like bacon without couching it in “Bet Grok would like it” hyperbole, or just walk away from it. Primal loses my endorsement when I see that stuff.
I crack up reading how people are willing to say paleoman avoided grains and milk but took the time and had the technique to salt or sugar cure slabs of pig and then cook it -just so- over a fire. Puhleeze. Paleoman was a hunter-GATHERER. Emphasis on “gatherer”. Arise at dawn, gather fruits, nuts, and berries, along with fresh water from the nearest creek. The body wants hydration and some glucose when you wake up, not a slab of fried, cured meat (and definitely not from domesticated PIG, the worst animal protein available for human consumption). The hunt would take most of the afternoon, so where would they get the energy for that? Oh wait – each camp had a Frigidaire full of meat they could hit at daybreak, yeah? Along with their “coffee, with lots and lots of cream”.
I hear as well that elitists have no fondness for the foodstuff called Bacon.
To each their own I guess, but one last thing— if you’re not going to eat that piece of bacon, can you pass it my way?
Oops, I guess there is one more One Last Thing— hope your day today is a better one.
I wouldn’t know what elitists prefer, Michael. On my own, the texture, smell, and taste of bacon is enough to get me to quit eating for a few hours.
Bacon is not a “foodstuff”. More like a poisonstuff. Pigs are genetically very close to humans, with one notable exception – the largest organ in the human body, the skin, has all these tiny pores that are used to expel waste all day long. Pigs lack that function. The very poisons (I don’t use the word “toxin” because I feel its become a buzzword) that we sweat out are retained inside pig.
Most anyone serious about their meat knows the major reasons to go organic are the elimination of hormones, antibiotics, and environmental poisons from the animal diet. When an animal system is overloaded by that stuff it gets stored in fat until such time as the animal can process it. Of course it never can because the poison keeps coming. They develop waste products similar to humans which also get stored in tissue, primarily fat. So this wonderful fat that you like to eat off these pigs is loaded with all this crap.
I can eat an inch thick piece of fat off the side of a porterhouse steak and ask for more. Its truly one of the greatest tastes in simple dining outside of sushi. I can’t stomach the thought of eating porkfat, and it turned me off long before I ever found these things out. When Gary Null made a career out of inducing rheumatoid arthritis on stage using volunteers, that sealed the deal for me. Or maybe it was the heart-attack like symptoms I enjoyed mere hours after downing a pork-laden cuban sandwich?
You want it, go ahead, its all yours.
For non-organic bacon, Kirkland brand (from Costco) hands down. Not too salty, plenty of delicious fat, consistently outstanding. And reasonably priced too (it comes in a 4-pack and is under $13 for the whole deal)…
Love it. Can’t get enough. Throw in some avocado with the bacon…..I’m in HEAVEN.
Ellis, apologies for my presumption, and tongue-in-cheek elitist remark.
I can tell you are passionate about your aversion to all things pork.
Thank you for your evangelism. I’ve now additional reading/researching to do.
Oh, and thanks for the bacon.
Cheers,
Michael
Michael, thanks for being open-minded. Definitely look into “Master Nutritional Showman” Gary Null and his arthritis stage act. I’m not one for chasing after trendy nutritional gurus (present web site owners included) so I don’t fall at Null’s feet like some, but whether you agree with his nutritional claims on anything else or not, his stage act was pretty convincing. Giving people samples of pork and watching what would otherwise be diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis develop was an eye-opener.
The good thing is, the cheaper packs of bacon and pork have more fat cos CW people don’t want the lard!!
Just bought some Tesco Value pork belly. I just tried a bit and it was about 80% fat – there was hardly any meat on it at all LOL!!! Yay!!
I fix my traders joes uncured no nitrite or nitrate bacon in the oven at 325 degrees about 25 min—it is amazing and no mess!
Please! Could someone address the sugar issue? There have been several questions posted here about the sugar content and no answers. As I am new to the primal lifestyle, I would love to know how the added sugar in bacon is ok to consume? I have yet to find sugarless bacon in my area of NM, even applegate farms has some form of sugar added.
No its not ok. Its a refined sugar. Go study what it takes to make the stuff and you’ll never want to ingest it again. But why worry about it? You’re working on cancer just eating bacon in the first place. Either skip the pork or don’t bother reading the label.
i lived on bacon-eggs-onions for 7 days….
cheap-tasty-filling.
my skin was the clearest i can remmber….i also lost 3kg.
i ate once in the morning then again late at night. about 330grams a day of bacon and 10 eggs a day. plus 2 onions.
roughly $6.00 a day. total.
no stress. it just keeps you going.
amazing and affordable.
thankyou.
Bob, great report.
I think I’ll give this a test and see what results/comments I can add to your findings. 
Love bacon, great article, great comments! I too find costs pretty high at both local stores that sell pastured meats and the farmers markets. I have saved my budget a little by Safeway’s new line of foods called “Open Nature”. The uncured bacon is actually very tasty AND kinder to my wallet. I wish I could afford the local stuff, but until I win the lottery, I’ll content myself with that.
hi just posted a comment but don’t see it.
I’m a big fan of apple wood smoked bacon. I’ve been getting “Natural” stuff at BJ’s lately for price benefits. It says it’s hormone and antibiotic free and uncured with no nitrates or nitrites added (except those naturally occurring in celery salt). No idea how “Natural” it is or what the pigs eat but it tastes good. I eat it every day with my farm fresh (within a week) free range eggs.
I love my sweet potato wrapped in nitrite free Appplegate Farms bacon for my morning break at work. So simple to make – 350degs. for about 20mins in the oven – make on Sundays for the week.
I take before meals 300ml pure orange juice, and I hope about 15 minutes before “start work” to ensure proper absorption of vitamin C.