Hello my friends! You know I’m here to give you the straight up facts and wade through all of the misinformation running rampant in the nutrition industry. Today I am going to talk to you about one of my favorite things to eat, something that is being currently vilified, and that is bacon.

All I’ve seen on the news lately is how bacon causes cancer, that it reduces your life by 25%, and how you shouldn’t eat it. Well, anyone who knows me or has read my blog knows that bacon is life to me, and that I’ve discussed how bacon is not bad for you, so I was determined to get to the bottom of this issue. I mean, I am more than willing to admit I’m wrong if I am, but I didn’t think I was, and I did some research to see what the media was talking about. And whatever I find I want to share with you, my wonderful readers so that you won’t read what’s out there and think of it as fact.

Here’s the scoop on bacon. Bottom line, it’s where and how the bacon or any other processed meat is produced that is the key to whether it is dangerous or not. As I just said, it’s not just bacon we are talking about here, friends, it’s any processed meat, like sausage, lunch meat, and hot dogs. Bacon just seems to be the processed meat every media outlet is talking about.

When I say where and how it is produced here’s what I mean, ANY meat that you eat (or eggs for that matter) should be organically pasture-raised, and the animal should eat an appropriate diet as well. In addition, the how it’s produced part means that your bacon or other processed meat should be preservative free, and the primary preservative we are talking about here is nitrates. Nitrate free bacon is easily found in health food grocery stores and your local farmer’s market, as is pasture raised bacon or other processed meats.

That being said, mass produced bacon, like grocery store bacon, is not cured in the appropriate way. Refer to my previous blog post, “Bacon is my favorite healthy thing!” for more information about curing and other bacony facts. Avoiding bacon from the grocery store would be a very good rule of thumb to making bacon eating a healthy experience.

I feel like I don’t need to say this, but you shouldn’t eat processed meat 3 times a day, even if it is pasture raised and nitrate free. Exercising good judgment and restraint is the way to go here. I eat processed meat twice a week at the most, and that’s probably an appropriate amount to stick with.

The real key to being able to eat processed meat safely lies in your gut however. If your gut is full of friendly bacteria it will be a healthy environment in which to digest your food, especially food that is potentially harmful. Make sure you are taking an excellent quality probiotic. I take ultrabiotic capsules made by Guyer Institute which contain very high amounts of friendly bacteria to ensure my gut is in perfect health.

Last but not least lies in the way your processed meat is prepared. Grilling and frying are the least healthy ways to prepare processed meat due to the carcinogens produced. Here’s an important point though, make sure not to BURN your processed meat no matter what you do. And for those of you who like crispy bacon, that’s a no-no. It is far healthier to eat your bacon less done, when grilling or frying.

Those are the straight up facts for you, lovely people. Make sure your processed meats are pasture-raised, appropriately fed, nitrate free, not crispy or burned, and eaten only a few times a week. And make sure your gut is healthy too so your body can handle anything that comes its way. Most importantly when you’re eating bacon or anything you love ENJOY IT! That’s how you live a life of vitality-like Valerie!