Good Lifestyle

The bacon is a staple in the American diet. It is a traditional breakfast meat, as well as a food we like to experiment, remember the craze of the bacon that gave us bacon beets and bacon donuts? But bacon is also one of these supermarket items that are a bit controversial. For starters, it should be consumed with moderation because it is not the healthiest food in nature. To add to that, there are many factors that play in the quality of the packaged bacon, starting with the quality of the meat used in production, as well as the curing and smoking processes, which can give rise to a quality bacon Superior, a product This can be a potential health risk.

How does the bacon made

The American bacon is made from pork belly. You can see it called "striated bacon" in other countries because it has more fatty bands than, say, British bacon.

The first step to make bacon is to cure it with a mixture of salt, sugar and seasonings. Sometimes preserving agents such as potassium nitrate and sodium nitrite are added during this step to prevent bacterial growth.The brands that cut the corners will inject bacon with this mixture into a process called "pumping", which reduces production time.

Once the hardening is over, it's on smoking. The traditional smoking process can take several days, while a larger scale production can use a smoke flavoring agent with a convection oven, which decreases in time.

Nitrates and Nitrites

Generally, the two chemical compounds are spoken negatively when it comes to products like bacon. These compounds are often added to the meat transformed during the curing process, but can be potentially harmful to humans.Indeed, nitrosamines, compounds formed when proteins are decomposed in the presence of nitrates and nitrites, have been linked to the increased risk of cancer. However, few people know that even vegetables contain these compounds, which occur naturally on the ground base they have grown.

If you want to avoid these compounds, look for a label that reads "unsecured bacon, no added nitrates or nitrites", as directed by the USDA. But let's be clear - there is no need to automatically demonize any brand (or small producer) using these in their product. Nitrates and natural nitrites, such as beet and celery, can have health benefits. If you are looking for a distinction on what types of nitrates and nitrites have been used, the label "No chemical nitrite and added" will indicate that the compounds of the product are derived from vegetables.

Is the bacon related to cancer?

TheInternational Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Part of the World Health Organization (WHO), classifies processed meat (including bacon) as Class Cancerogen 1. This means that "convincing evidence" can cause cancer. Although we do not completely understand the process, we know that in the natural failure of proteins combined with nitrites, nitrosamines are formed. These compounds may be linked to carcinogenic risk and are formed in the highest quantities at high temperatures. General government guidelines for the consumption of processed meat consists of "limiting or avoiding".

How to choose the best bacon

Here's what to look for when shopping for the healthiest bacon:

• Look at your sodium. The FDA indicates that sodium consumption should be 2300 mg / day or less. Some trademarks of bacon contain up to 20% of your daily sodium value in just two slices.
• Thick cut vs thin cut.Thick cutting means more bacon in less slices. This means more sodium, more fat, more calories. We think that watching with a thick bacon is how you cook it. Do not sing the super high heat for long periods, which can form more nitrosamines (the compounds that warn us).
• Sodium ascorbate means "pumping" cheap has been used. The USDA requires sodium ascorbate to be added to the bacon if it has been "pumped", to reduce the amount of free nitrate in the product (and reduce the resulting amount of nitrosamines). So, if you see this ingredient on the label, you know that production practices were lower than optimal.
• Note the fat, but be realistic. It's bacon. There will be fat, especially in the American bacon. While some brands have less fat than others, this macronutrient is not the most important thing to watch if you eat bacon.

The best brands of bacon you can buy

1. The breeder of the Nature Applewood smoked bacon uncured

All this exclusive brand of food uses vegetarian foods for their pigs and does not use crates or cages. The list of ingredients is much shorter than that of other bacon brands - it includes only pork, water, brown sugar, salt, vinegar, citrus extract, grenade and extracts Rosemary. With only 35 calories and 2 grams per slice, it is the most caloric bacon and conscious of the grease of the range.

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Available for all foods.

2. Farms of Vandewood Vandewood Vandewood Smoke Smoked Smoked Bacon

Available in some grocery stores and online, the pink bacon bacon is essential for mentioning for its best grades in many publications and taste tests. This group based on Iowa source duroc pork (known for its tasty meat and its natural marble) of several farms. They use vegetarian foods and hand in hand each animal to ensure an ideal weight and size. After treatment, the bacon is drilled dry for six days and smoked for 12 hours on Applewood chips. Although the ingredients contain sodium nitrites and sodium erythorbate (for accelerated hardening and color development), the company's process shows that it is not a "pumping" method. Is it the best nutrition profile when it comes to calories and grease? No, but on the basis of dozens of rankings # 1, associated with only 260 mg sodium per serving (which, with 33 grams, is two to three times larger than some other brands), this choice is the example. Perfect that calories are calories. t everything.

3. AppleGate Naturals Hickory Smoked Saturday Sunday Bacon

Applegate is a brand that does not care about natural and biological meats, with 100% vegetarian regimes for their animals and human farming methods. This bacon does not contain charges, no OGM ingredients and no chemical nitrates or nitrites. Remember that celery powder is still naturally high in nitrates. The low calories for a two-sliced ​​portion are a major advantage if you like a lot of slices for breakfast, but you think the 310 milligrams of sodium.

4. White tray tray bacon smoked hardwood hardwood

This target brand bacon has reasonable sodium levels, but levels of grease slightly higher than other brands. Ingredients contain hardening accelerators and color development improvements, nitrites and sodium phosphates to maintain moisture. So, nutrition-wise this option is not bad, but the list of ingredients reveals that this brand uses shortcuts in their production methods.

5. Smithfield All Bacon Shickory Shickory Shickory

Smithfield is the largest pork producer in the world (Now belonging to a Chinese company) It is not a great surprise that they have a wide variety of bacon products available. This choice does not contain added nitrates or nitrites, but uses the celery juice that naturally contains the same compound. You will find turbinado sugar and sea salt on the list of ingredients, which may seem more chic but it is still only sugar and salt. At 100 milligrams of sodium and only 80 calories per serving is one of the best nutritional choices in the group. The current Practices of Smithfield are not aligned with your personal philosophies, but they claim to work on certain sustainability objectives set out in a 2018 sustainability declaration.

The worst bacon brands you can buy

1. Bacon Coupé Thick Sugar Brown Black Hummary Black Label

This thick bacon is almost doubled the weight of other brands and contains significantly more sodium. At 110 calories for two slices, be aware of the amount you consume (four slices of a sandwich are 220 calories in the bacon alone). The hormulant bacon contains sodium nitrite but also sodium erythorbate, which is a treatment accelerator and stimulates color development in hardened meat. Not ideal.

2. Oscar Mayer naturally smoked hardwood

You will find nitrites and sodium ascoration on the list of ingredients of this bacon. Sodium ascorbate is an addition mandated by USDA when the bacon passes through the "pumping" process and the presence of this ingredient is a good signal that subarent production practices have been used. Add to that 350 milligrams of sodium per serving and the final product is nice counterpart.

3. High value naturally hickory smoke thick trench bacon

While nutritional facts about this bacon do not differ too many of the best choices, it is the list of ingredients that reveals any reason for the concern. You will find sodium phosphates (preserve moisture), sodium erythrobatis (color accelerator and hardening) and sodium nitrite on the list. This, with water as the first ingredient, indicates that you get a "pumped" product of lower quality. A look at customer reviews reveal complaints about the lack of coherence of the thickness of the slices (super thin super thick). If you have to eat bacon, get something slightly better than that.

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