I have this very good book that I'm reading called
The Great Cholesterol Myth. I got it for my husband who is still on the low fat whole grain mindset for a heart healthy diet. It's an easy read, well laid out book, that goes into lots of studies and is heavy on nutrition. They are not fans of statins and they make a very good case. It's right in line with what we all believe on this forum. Sugar and carbs are the main culprits of heart disease.
But the book goes much deeper into other areas of nutrition as well.
One thing I'm not sure about now is the bacon I eat. I'm buying Applegate bacon from Whole Foods. It's uncured, minimally processed, organic, and is the healthiest option on bacon that I have found thus far. I buy it from the meat counter, so I don't have a package that I can take a good look at.
So anyhow, an excerpt from this book says:
Processed meats contribute to both inflammation in general and heart disease specifically.
Harvard researchers investigated the effect of eating processed meat versus unprocessed meat. Processed meat was defined as any meat preserved by curing, salting, smoking, or with the addition of chemical preservatives such as those found in salami, sausages, hot dogs, luncheon meats and bacon. ( Previous studies had rarely separated processed meat from unprocessed meat when investigating the relationship between disease and meat eating). The researchers analyzed twenty studies that included a total of 1,218,380 people from ten countries on four continents. They found that each 1.8 ounce daily serving of processed meat ( about one hot dog or a couple of slices of deli meat) was associated with a 42 percent higher risk of developing heart disease. ( In contrast, no relationship was found between heart disease and nonprocessed red meat)
Although the study didn't identify which specific ingredients in processed meat could be responsible for the association, many health professionals believe that high levels of sodium and nitrates might be responsible. "When we looked at average nutrients in unprocessed red and processed meats eaten in the US, we found that they contained similar amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. In contrast, processed meats contained on average, four times more sodium and 50 percent more nitrate preservatives," said Renata Micha, a research fellow in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study. "This suggests that differences in salt and preservatives, rather than fats, might explain the higher risk of heart disease and diabetes seen with processed meats, but not with unprocessed red meats"
So although I have organic, no antibioitic, minimally processed bacon with no nitrate or nitrites added ( except those naturally occuring in sea salt), it's still smoked, and has sea salt and sugar added.
Thoughts?
