I’ve always been a lover of breakfast. It used to be cereal and milk every day, but when we started farming at Rockside I realized I needed a lot more nutrition to fuel my day than a couple bowls of empty carbs covered in nonfat milk. People always joke about a real “farm breakfast” being bacon and eggs, and becoming a farmer quickly taught me why.

Starting the day with protein and fat means much more sustained energy. If you’re like me, you’ve probably experienced the mid morning or mid afternoon slump when you feel like you need another cup of coffee (or 3!) to keep your eyes open. But the truth of the matter is that starting the day with sufficient protein, fat, and carbs (think lots of veggies!) combined will likely stave off the slump, and help you feel energized throughout the day.

When I think of adding protein and fat to my breakfast, I can’t help but dream of delicious Rockside Bacon. We offer four different options for bacon at Rockside: Regular Bacon, Cottage Bacon, Canadian Bacon, and Leg Bacon. Regular bacon is made from pork belly, Cottage bacon comes from the pork shoulder, Canadian bacon is made from the pork loin, and Leg bacon comes from, well, the leg! The difference between these types of bacon is seen in their shape and fat content. Click here to learn how I cook my crispy baked bacon!

Perhaps when you think of bacon, you feel a moment of pause and wonder if bacon is really something you should be eating. There is so much conflicting information out there that it’s hard to know who to trust when it comes to nutritional advice. I believe in a scientifically backed, middle of the road approach that favors ancestral wisdom, bio-individuality, and balance. When high quality bacon is consumed in moderation as part of a whole foods diet (meaning, when you are eating lots of vegetables too!), it sparks joy in the eater and does not deprive them of health.

Here are three bacon facts you should know:

As a culture, we are confused about fat. For years, we’ve bought into the idea that eating fat makes you fat. In recent years, many scientists have debunked that claim and have shown that removing fat from our diets has actually made us a lot sicker. Diabetes and obesity have increased exponentially over the past 40 years, even amidst the medical establishment telling us that eating less fat, especially saturated fat, is going to solve all of our problems. It turns out that most people, when they remove high quality fats from their diets, tend to replace those calories with enormous amounts of empty carbohydrates in order to feel satisfied. When considering nutrition, we have to look at the whole picture.
Eating a healthy balance of high quality fats enables more satiation from a meal, which actually makes you eat less and feel satisfied longer. This includes saturated fat from plant and animal sources (like coconut oil, bacon, and butter). It might even surprise you to learn that quality peer reviewed studies, recognized by reputable sources, have found no significant causal relationship between saturated fat consumption and heart disease or stroke (1)(2). In terms of saturated fat intake on blood cholesterol, there is similarly sufficient reason to believe that dietary cholesterol doesn’t raise blood cholesterol as much as the inflammatory response caused by too much sugar, grains, and processed foods. It’s even been shown that people who eat sufficient fat in their diet have a lower risk of being severely depressed (3). Wow!
When we consider the whole picture, it’s clear that fat is an essential part of a healthy diet; it’s just as important as vegetables. So adding bacon to our breakfast of fried eggs and sauteed spinach is actually a net positive for our health–not only our heart health, but our mental health too!
Bacon is made by curing and smoking pork. It’s a long process, and the ingredients list on bacon can be confusing, even on high quality natural bacon. Some people say the sugar is the offender to fear, while others are afraid of the nitrates. When sugar is used in the processing of bacon, most of it is smoked out, making sugar in bacon not a huge concern. It’s actually preferable, in my opinion, to other chemical additives used in some bacons, when used to achieve the same result. The nitrates found in bacon offer a little more complicated story.
Did you know that nitrates and nitrites are naturally occurring substances found in higher levels in your saliva and beets than in processed meats? (4) Celery also contains extremely high levels of nitrates. Nitrates have been found to actually be extremely healthful and have even been used to lower blood pressure. Not only are nitrates found in higher levels in saliva and plant foods than in processed meats, but when consumed, they are processed out of your system extremely quickly (like within 5 minutes!). So nitrates themselves are not the bad guys, but when things start getting a little tricky is when those natural nitrates are entwined with protein in processed meats. This is where nitrates get their bad name, and this is where vegetables come in.
Nitrates plus protein can create chemical reactions that make nitrosamines, the problematic compound that’s been linked to poor health outcomes (although some would even argue that this link is very weak). HOWEVER, eating even a modest amount of fruits and vegetables inhibits those chemical reactions! Vitamin C and antioxidants called polyphenols (like those in berries, nuts, coffee and olive oil!) have a highly protective effect on our metabolism. When vegetables and foods high in polyphenols are consumed alongside processed meats, the potential of detrimental effects disappears (5).
I always prefer to reach for meats that are cured naturally, but the truth is that even “uncured” products that are cured with celery powder are high in nitrates. So the most important thing to remember about those nitrates is that regardless of whether they’re coming from natural or synthetic sources, as long as you’re including lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet you can enjoy processed meats in moderation without a problem. In fact, in my opinion, in the context of a balanced, nutrient rich diet, the benefits of eating high quality bacon far outweigh the “risks!”
Pasture raised pork, like the pork we raise at Rockside Ranch, lives and grows outdoors. Our pigs spend their days digging in the soil of our woodlands, scratching their backs on tree bark, and basking in the sun. Pigs have increased the health of our forest because they are always moving and depositing their manure whilst tilling the ground. Wherever they have been, you can often see thick green grass growing and our fire risk reduced drastically from the reduction in small fuels the pigs are so great at turning under.
Not only do our pigs increase the health of our soil, but they help our local economy as well. When we run to the local lumber yard to buy supplies for fencing or animal housing, when we hire another staff member to work on the farm, or when we take in another student who wants to get out of crisis and turn his life around, we are sowing seeds for a fruitful economic future.
On top of building soil and a healthy economy, buying food from a small farm is an investment in a sustainable food supply chain. When global instability prevents food from getting to your table, knowing the farmers who grow your food and buying directly from them is a great way to ensure that you won’t go hungry. The more food you buy from small local farms, the more small local infrastructure will be created to support those farms. When uncertainty looms, it’s helpful to invest in farms we can see and touch and in farmers we trust to steward the land and bring food to our tables.

My biggest hope is that you’ll be convinced that eating a balanced diet means that food can be satisfying and enjoyable. High quality bacon can play a major role alongside all those healthy fruits, veggies, and other pasture raised meats! See my recipe below for an easy way to cook bacon, and check out my Warm Root Vegetable Salad with Bacon & Eggs for a great idea for how to incorporate lots of veggies into your bacon meal!

Three Cheers for Bacon!

Three Bacon Facts to Know! [By Jen]

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Three Bacon Facts to Know! [By Jen]

1. The fat in bacon is nourishing and heart healthy, especially when consumed with a lot of vegetables

2. Cured naturally or with synthetic nitrates doesn’t matter as much as eating vegetables alongside your bacon.

3. Eating bacon from small, local operations increases soil health, benefits the local economy, and ensures food security.