Nothing beats a delicious bacon sandwich on a Saturday morning, smothered in ketchup or brown sauce, it can feel like the perfect way to kick off a weekend, especially after a boozy Friday night. But while we all know that the rashes of fatty goodness may not be the best for keeping our arteries clear, a bacon sandwich here and there can’t be that bad, can it?
While it turns out the pork product might actually be doing much more damage than we think, and as tempting as that greasy spoon fry-up may be – perhaps it’s better to stick with just the beans on toast. Doctors, dieticians and scientists are becoming increasingly worried about the drastic effects that bacon could be having on our health. Presenter and health expert Dr Chris van Tulleken, the author behind “Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food”, want to see action taken to protect our health.
Speaking to the Telegraph, he said: “I would like there to be a public health campaign warning people about the research on Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs), which is very robust.”
It’s not just Dr Chris who is worried, registered dietitian and British Dietetic Association spokesperson Clare Thornton-Wood is particularly concerned about the use of nitrates to preserve bacon. Although nitrates can naturally occur in vegetables and in that form can be good for us, in bacon, they form a compound called nitrosamines, which have been linked to bowel and other forms of cancer.
Because of that risk, the seemingly innocent pork product is classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Thornton-Wood added: “In their natural form, nitrates actually have health benefits. The reason there is no risk from vegetables is that they are not a rich source of protein, so there isn’t a chemical reaction.”
Although bacon’s fat is perhaps what makes it taste so delicious, the meat is extremely high in saturated fat, which can play havoc with your cholesterol. The dietitian added: “High intakes of saturated fat have known links with cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and stroke.”
On top of that, being a UPF also puts you at risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and poor mental health, so it may not be worth the few minutes of joy on a Saturday morning.
If you don’t think you give it your weekly sarnie, then there are a few things you can do to reduce its negative impacts. Firstly, Thornton-Woods suggests sticking to back bacon or bacon medallions that have a much lower fat content than streaky.
She also recommends avoiding the frying pan and sticking to the grill, trimming any excess fat off where you can to keep your heart clean and healthy.
Finally, she stresses the need not to cook the meat too much until it turns dark brown or black, as this can again release some harmful chemicals.