[jc-hunter]

I am not picking on anyone specifically, but , there are always responses in food posts about "bacon". Yes it tastes good, but it is a fatty meat. Like hamburger (fat added), sausage, pepperoni, etc. The way commercial meats are raised today, chemicals such as antibiotics and growth hormones are given to the animals,( pork and beef.) The fat stores 20X the chemicals as the meat does. So when we consume meats like this, we are getting 20x the cancer causing chemicals as when we eat the lean cuts of meat. The most common cancer men get is prostate cancer. Fatty meats are the #1 cause of prostate cancer. 60% of all American males will get some form of cancer in their lifetime. And 80% of all cancers are caused by our diet. Think about that number. "Do you feel lucky? Well do ya punk?"( I just had to throw that in. I really like Clint). Is there any wonder that 60% of all American males are getting cancer? With all the fatty meats we eat? I have had prostate cancer and God blessed me with a good outcome. But in the process I took a lot of time to read up on the latest knowledge on the subject. You couldnt make me eat bacon, or other fatty meats. I now look at it as poison, so it is easy to not eat. I had cancer once and would really like to avoid a second round. Please consider these words and dont ever think for a minute that it cant happen to you. Murphy's Law always seems to prevail.

 

[wesley762]

Bacon is just like any other vise in life, we all know it's not good for us but we do it anyways. I mean honestly in this day in age all most everything you run accross in this modern world if you think about it is going to give you cancer. Hell sitting in front of this PC typing this is a risk all in it's self...........

The only way to avoid the risks would to be a crawl under a rock and never come out but that in it self is just as bad as death. Live life and enjoy your bacon

 

[Verteidiger]

A friend of mine used to say "I would rather eat what I want to eat and die at 80 than eat like a baby and live to 85. Because those five extra years after 80 probably are not going to be worth eating a restricted diet."

I used to say I would ask him how he felt about that rather fatalistic approach once he hit 80....

My view is everything in moderation. We eat bacon on the weekend for breakfast, and have Italian sausage lasagna and smoked sausage jambalaya a couple times a month. But I have cut back on red meat a lot.

Right now I just put two chickens (split in half) and a rack of pork spare ribs on the grill, cooking low and slow for BBQ. Grilling sheds most of the fat off the meat and makes the meat taste great, but I also trim any excess fat off first. Why take unnecessary chances with your good health?

 

[Fuzzee]

A friend of mine used to say "I would rather eat what I want to eat and die at 80 than eat like a baby and live to 85. Because those five extra years after 80 probably are not going to be worth eating a restricted diet."

That sums me up in part and I've said something like it myself many a time. I love bacon too. This thread makes me want some. I was at work today watching an old man who had to be in his 80's try and walk down a ramp to the parking lot. His wife went to get the car and he with his cane achingly hobbled down the ramp hanging onto the railing for dear life. I'm sorry I just don't want to live like that. Maybe it's because I'm bigger and stronger than most people and just can't imagine life otherwise. I hate being sick or hurt. I hate the thought of being weak or needing to rely on others. I honestly would rather die young in a quick moment whether in a firefight over something worth it or of a massive heart attack living my life the way I want it till the time comes. I'd rather go down in a ball of flames than die a weak old man. It's my life, my choice and I don't give a damn who tries and tells me different.

 

[Smitty901]

Serve up the Bacon...I will do 50 more push ups I run another mile but serve it up

 

[jc-hunter]

The "eat what you want " and live to 80 or eat better and live to 85, just doesnt cut the mustard. Its more like, " eat what you want " and live to 60, or eat better and live to 85. Hospitals are full of cancer patients in their 50's and 60's. But go ahead and act real tough and be bullet proof. Your attitude will change right about the day of your needle biopsy.

 

[tango]

The three most important ingredients in any recipe are, bacon, bacon, and bacon---

 

[HuntingHawk]

There is nothing wrong with bacon. But like ALL commercial meats, too many chemicals added for growth. Antibiotics included. So if you grow your own you know what its fed & is healthier. Just try to stay away from any monsanto seed feed. That goes for any livestock.

 

[Lucky Jim]

...You couldnt make me eat bacon, or other fatty meats. I now look at it as poison..

I eat bacon and meat regularly because my body is telling me it wants it, and it's never good to ignore your body..
For example our Jewish friends don't eat bacon and there's a higher incidence of Crohn's Disease (inflammation of the gut) among the Jewish population.
As for vegetarian food, Linda McCartney, Davy Jones, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb and Donna Summer were all veggies who died young. (The Gibbs both developed colorectal cancer) and now Angelina Jolie has ditched her vegan diet because she's fed up of being ill.
Fat has had a bad press, yet explorers doing long treks crave it such as the Burke and Wills expedition across Australia, all but one of whom who starved to death on a sparse grain and fish diet. "I dream of having great slabs of fat to eat" wrote one in his diary.
And polar trekker Mike Stroud said "We devoured great gobs of melted butter with relish".

PS- if people are concerned about what they put into their body, they could start by cutting out smoking and boozing, i've never done either of them.
"You're not a man if you don't drink and smoke" my hard-drinking hard-smoking brother in law once said half-jokingly to me. He died aged 65 riddled with cancer ago but I'm still going strong and have passed the 65 mark..

 

[Fuzzee]

This thread needs more bacon pics.

 

[wesley762]

Just saying.....

 

[PaulS]

I like bacon but I don't eat a lot of it. It is the most expensive meat I buy.
I like fish - I mean I LIKE fish. Poached or grilled salmon, cod, or tapilia. Trout is great and even the lowly catfish are great to eat.
I enjoy chicken, beef, pork and the wild variations of each.

I eat a moderate diet with more vegies and fruit than meats and starches but I try to keep it balanced. That, I believe, is the key - balance. We are omnivoirs and we need a variety in our diet. We also need to be aware of our "native" diet. what did our ancestors eat 5 or 6 generations ago? Your gut is filled with microbes that rely on those foods to keep you healthy. You also need to be active - physically and mentally. Set goals and meet them - keep a bit of success in your life and keep progressing.

Shed any guilt or self loathing from your mind - it is as important to good health as any other part.

Life should include spirituality (whatever that means to you), physical work, mental and emotional wellness.

 

[Fuzzee]

This small meat shop in my old town used to do brown sugar and honey soaked bacon. Thick, premium slices too. I still have day dreams about it when I'm hungry sometimes.

 

[Lucky Jim]

I was once chased across a field by a herd of cows (I thought they were supposed to be gentle creatures) and had to climb on the roof of a hut til they'd gone.
Now whenever i sink my teeth into a beefburger I think "It's payback time!"

 

[Smitty901]

When wife puts on a pan of Good smoked bacon and and a pot of coffee you are compelled to get out of bed.

 

[Inor]

If your concern is what chemicals are in the bacon and sausage, then make your own. It tastes better and at least making sausage is fun to do.

Maple Ham & Bacon Cure, 2 Lbs.

 

[PaulS]

Um, isn't there a recipe for the curing spices available? what is the difference between buying the bacon and buying the chemicals used to make the bacon?

I'm one of those people that actually prepares his own food - with ingredients that I can pronounce and understand......

I had a chemistry set (I think I still have some of it) anyway, I had one once and there are a lot of those same chemicals in our food - and their lables had cautions on them!


I thought I would add Martha Stewart's recipe but I would not recommend it - look-up "curing salts" and find out what it includes.

Ingredients
5 tbsps kosher salt (diamond crystal)
2 tbsps granulated sugar
3/4 tsp curing salt
27 1/2 lbs pork belly (slab fresh, whole belly slab)
9 sheets feet (18 inch, aluminum foil)
5 cups apple (wood or hickory smoking chips)

 

[Inor]

The #1 "pink salt" is either sodium nitrite or saltpeter (the old school way to do it). They color it pink so you do not mix it up with table salt. It is used to for curing bacon and sausage that is cooked. The #2 "salt" is the dangerous stuff if you overdo it. It is used to curing meats that are fermented rather than cooked.

The University of Minnesota came out with a study a few years ago bemoaning how dangerous sodium nitrite is, but if you do the math, you find out that you would have to use about a tablespoon of the stuff per pound of meat for it to be fatal and using that much, you could not stand to eat it anyway.

 

[PaulS]

The problem is that when you heat it (either of them) they produce oxides that become oxidizers in the digestive tract.

Prolonged exposure to heated nitrites and nitrates causes cancer. You can prevent it by flooding your system with anti-oxidants but it is a bad way to process meat.
There are other ways to cure meat.

 

[AvengersAssembled]

Just like most things, I believe in "anything in moderation". I don't eat bacon everyday (mostly because I couldn't afford it!), but it is a nice treat every once in a while.