What's the difference between cure and uncured bacon?

There is bacon.It can be found on the menu at the restaurant or in the bacon section of your supermarket.

Is that section ever-expanding?bacon manufacturers keep coming up with new ways to make bacon sound better, with descriptions like applewood, center cut, and Irish bacon.

Whether your bacon is cured or uncured is the only thing that might affect your health.

Saturated fat and total fat are high in bacon.If you aren't eating small portions, you're getting more fat and salt.

It is a risk factor for high blood pressure.The American Heart Association does not recommend more than 2,300 IU of salt daily.High cholesterol can build up in the arteries and cause heart problems if you consume too much saturated fat.

Saturated fat should not be more than 10 percent of total calories.

Fat has 9 calories per gram, more than double the number of calories found in the other two.People who don't pay attention to their total calories intake may experience weight gain.

The process of curing is used to preserve food.It adds a bit of flavor.Smoke or packing salt can cure foods.Salt, sugar, and other flavors taste better together.

Any form of bacon that has been cured is cured bacon.Uncured bacon is not something that is preserved with either smoke or salt.That doesn't stop marketers from using the terms "cured" and "uncured."

Cured bacon is preserved with salt and nitrites.bacon is given a pink color by nitrites.

The two methods of curing are pumping and dry-curing.The Food Safety and Inspection Service says that the concentration of nitrites can't be more than 200 parts per million.

Uncured bacon is bacon that has not been cured.It is usually cured with a form of celery, which contains natural nitrites, along with plain old sea salt and other seasonings.

The bacon has to be labeled uncured.No nitrates or nitrites were added.

You might have heard that bacon and other cured meats have a higher incidence of certain cancers.It's possible that nitrites are in rat poison.Why do we add nitrites to food in the first place?

Along with making bacon pink, nitrites maintain bacon's flavor, prevent off odors, and delay the growth of thebacteria that cause botulism.

Many vegetables have nitrites in them.A diet with lots of processed bacon and hot dogs is more likely to put you at risk for colon or Pancreatic cancer than a vegetable diet.

Vegetables tend to have a lot of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C and E.nitrites can be converted to nitrosamines in the acid environment of your stomach.The conversion appears to be prevented by vitamins C and E.

Since the vegetables that contain nitrites have high levels of vitamin C, eating them sidesteps the risks involved in eating lots of high-nitrite foods.

Is bacon cured with nitrites better for you than uncured bacon?Not much.It is not known if the natural nitrites found in celery are less harmful than those added to cured bacon.

The high salt and saturated fat content of bacon should be limited to decrease the risk of heart disease.

Keep your diet full of healthy vegetables, fruits, and whole grains by eating bacon in moderate portions.

People love bacon.It goes with almost any food.Some people are concerned about potentially harmful compounds.

Turkey bacon is a healthier alternative to pork bacon.turkey bacon is reviewed in this article.

People often think nitrates and nitrites are harmful.Vegetables can be rich in nitrates.