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Is There Such a Thing as Healthy Bacon?

December 13, 2023

Hey Siri! Is there such a thing as healthy bacon?

The short answer is no, says registered dietitian Jamie Allers, MS, a registered dietitian with Hartford HealthCare’s Digestive Health Institute.

It’s the question on everyone’s minds: what about turkey bacon?

Not to mention plant-based, uncured, organic, all-natural, and center cut bacon.

“No matter what type of bacon we’re talking about, they are all considered to be processed meats,” Allers says.

The more processed something is, the more ingredients and additives it has.

“While less processed meats will be better for your health overall compared to processed meats, the protein, calories, carbohydrates and fats will be comparable across the board,” she says. “Fat and saturated fat might sometimes be less in turkey or plant-based bacon, but other nutrients such as sodium will often be the same.”

> Related: Nutrition Smack Down: Which Protein Is the Healthiest?

Watch out for the nitrates – and the marketing.

And the additives aren’t the only thing to keep your eye on, the marketing can also be tricky.

Uncured bacon (bacon that hasn’t been cured with synthetically sourced nitrates) claims to be healthier than regular bacon, as the nitrates come from vegetables. But according to Allers, the human body doesn’t differentiate – a nitrate is a nitrate.

In bacon, nitrates are used to cure and preserve the meat. They are linked to a higher risk of cancer.

So make no bones about it: bacon isn’t healthy.