Does bacon have some nutritional value?

[andzigallery]

Yeah, it does, believe it or not!  First, bacon is an excellent source of protein, with three grams for every slice and bacon does have small amounts of several essential nutrients.  Bacon contains Niacin which is necessary for proper circulation and nervous system function.  Bacon also contains Vitamin B12 which is needed for the well-being of the nervous system.  It also contains Thiamin which helps with blood circulation, metabolism, and digestion.  Bacon also contains Selenium, Iron, and Phosphorus. 

To make bacon part of healthy diet try consuming it without the fried eggs and toasted white bread smothered with butter.  Turkey bacon can equally supply the taste and nutrition of bacon.

[dreamyxo]

I prefer turkey bacon myself.

[monnee]

Thanks for the info on bacon.  I'll try to include some bacon in my diet.

[ODOMS6598]

thats good to know, cause my 5 yr old can eat a pound of it by himself.  He loves bacon....

[thechexmix]

Bacon is all well and good, and does provide nutrients, but I think it's important to only eat it in moderation. Bacon can have a really large amount of calories ... and getting too many calories every day is what leads to people gaining weight. But definitely some bacon is just fine to eat.

Anyway, turkey bacon is probably a better choice in the long run if you live in the US, because of "mega hog farms." If you've ever lived near one, they're nothing like normal pig farms. So try to find bacon that isn't produced by a company that uses "mega hog farms" to raise their animals. You can use google to find more information about this. I'm not trying to discourage anybody from eating it, just be careful about sources because mega hog farms lower the quality of living for miles around and are incredibly unsafe for workers and the pigs are often very unhealthy so you may not even get as much nutrition from them. Plus, all the antibiotics, etc they have to give the hogs ...

Anyway, just some more points to consider about bacon. Did you know they make chocolate bars with bacon in?  Will the wonders never cease?

[LaTashaS28]

That is good to know about bacon. These are some great tips...I also love turkey bacon, but I don't eat that much of it though.

[heartofphila]

Good to know, I thought since it tastes good , it cant be good for you.

[queenofnines]

I'd like to know exactly how this bacon meme got started.  Bacon is good, but it's not THAT good.   

[lvstephanie]

Those nutrients can be found in many other foods including other leaner meats. It's like Cosby's classic Chocolate Cake skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRmN4KnfPxQ. Just because it has some good nutrients in it doesn't make it good for you, esp. if eaten in large quantities.

Now bacon does taste good -- the fats and salt adding a lot of flavor -- which is why many people like to eat it. But I'd consider eating bacon only for this reason, and not for its nutritional value. One thing you may consider is to use bacon (or better yet, pancetta: a specially processed bacon that has additional spices added to it) chopped into small nuggets and using those to cook up some other vegetables to give it more flavor. Doing it this way, you can actually use less than one strip of bacon per serving (and so consume less fat) yet still retaining a lot of that bacony taste. I like to fry up some panchetta, onions, and spinach for a delicious side that has the nutrients from the spinach along with the taste from the panchetta. Panchetta is a little more difficult to find, but I've been able to go to my local grocery store and ask for panchetta at the meat counter. Get one sliced a 1/4 inch thick, and then put it in the freezer until you need to use it. By freezing the panchetta, it'll make it easier to cut into small pieces, which will quickly heat up when you start to fry them.

[JessieKateRose]

The health problem is not with bacon itself but with the preservative sodium nitrite. It is terrible for you and can lead to multiple diseases.
You can buy Nitrite-free bacon to fix this.

[bschumacher]

With the fat trimmed off, bacon's not that bad for you. Because it's so salty, one cannot consume it in large enough quantities for the preservatives, ect. to be dangerous.

[cubarican210]

Well I don't care whether it's healthy or not. I freakin' love bacon. Lol! 

[andzigallery]

Thanks everyone for your comments!  Not that I really eat lots of bacon but I do crave it from time to time.  Bacon is more like a snack item for me.  I usually like to eat a couple of strips here and there.  Like anything else that I've mentioned in this forum: avocados, tomatoes, and cinnamon and their nutrients etc., I was just as curious to find out if there is any nutritional value in bacon and there is.

And

@ thechexmix

Yes, I actually had one of those chocolate bars with bacon in its.  Let me say, did I like the combo, I still don't know.  It like when you take your first bite and start chewing, you taste both flavors separately that somehow blends together as you continuing chewing.  And your like, "Well, do I really like this combination together?''  It's really hard to explain!  It like you spend most of your time thinking if this to flavor go together or not, do I really like this, and I don't know if I like to two flavors together or not!  At least that was my experience.  BTW, these chocolate bars with bacon in it can be purchased at Whole Foods.  Go Figure!!!

[Valerie1979]

Yeah, it does, believe it or not!  First, bacon is an excellent source of protein, with three grams for every slice and bacon does have small amounts of several essential nutrients.  Bacon contains Niacin which is necessary for proper circulation and nervous system function.  Bacon also contains Vitamin B12 which is needed for the well-being of the nervous system.  It also contains Thiamin which helps with blood circulation, metabolism, and digestion.  Bacon also contains Selenium, Iron, and Phosphorus. 

To make bacon part of healthy diet try consuming it without the fried eggs and toasted white bread smothered with butter.  Turkey bacon can equally supply the taste and nutrition of bacon.

3 grams of protein per slice is not exactly a "good source"
Turkey bacon has about the same amount of fat and cholesterol as regular bacon.
compare nutrition labels.

[bigfoot951]

absolutely.  something that tastes that good has to be good for you.