Posted by Monica Weaver on Jun 19, 2015 in Health, Food, & Crafting | 1 comment

3 Tips for Buying Bacon

3 Tips for Buying Bacon. Bacon is one of those breakfast foods that is loved by everyone. There are so many ways to use bacon and we are not limited to just breakfast. When purchasing bacon there are some things that you need to consider, some of which can have a impact on your health. Today, I am going to share with you the low-down on the fat in bacon and three tips to help you choose bacon.

What You Need to Know About Healthy Fats

• The fat in bacon is 50% is monounsaturated fat, mostly consisting of oleic acid, the type so valued in olive oil. About 3% of that is palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturate with valuable antimicrobial properties.

• Monounsaturated fat is known for reducing inflammation and lowering blood pressure, while the antimicrobial palmitoleic content in bacon fat can keep plaque at bay. Triglycerides too may improve because bacon fat is especially good at helping us achieve satiety and stable blood sugar. Bacon can thus be useful for diabetics and prediabetics as well as everyone else coping with sugar cravings and carbohydrate addictions.

• About 40 % of bacon fat is saturated. Science is increasingly showing the importance of saturated fats in the diet, and those who choose to eat these fats are often noticing great results.

• The remaining 10% of fat in bacon is polyunsaturated fatty acids (mostly Omega-6). These are the “bad” fats in bacon, because most people already eat too much of them. However, if you choose bacon from pastured pigs that ate a natural diet, then this won’t be much of an issue. If your pigs are commercially fed, with plenty of soy and corn (like most pigs are), then the bacon may contain enough Omega-6 to cause problems. (source)

Your diet should consist of 30-50% of calories from fat, This is found to be highly beneficial.

3 Tips for Buying Bacon

Tip #1: Purchase Organic Bacon. This means pigs were fed an organic feed. Note: Remember to look for USDA Organic Label

Tip #2 NO antibiotics and hormone-free

Tip #3 ALL Natural Ingredients. Must be nitrate and nitrite free (except those naturally occurring in sea salt and celery powder), no preservatives, no chemical solutions, no phosphates.

Always, always make sure to read the ingredient list on the back of your products. The more commercial the product, the more likely that list contains additives you don’t need. If you can buy your bacon from a local farmer at the Farmer’s Market even better.

My preferred choice is Applegate Organic Uncured Bacon. It meets the criteria and allows our family to enjoy healthy bacon. I purchase mine in the grocery section at Target.

Make sure to check out yesterday’s post on how to cook bacon the EASY WAY.