What do you mean Bacon is Good for Me?

Hi everyone, C-pher here and I figured that I would start a topic with one of my favorite foods.  Down home, we grew up eating bacon.  It's been a staple at the breakfast table at my Mimi's house, that's my Grandmother for all my Yankee friends, since I was knee high to a grasshopper.  So, I'm not gonna lie about this topic.  I have to admit that over the years of my life, I've kinda grown this unhealthy addiction to Bacon.  Hell, of the people that know me, knows that it's my middle name on Facebook.  Also, if you've been around for the past Eight years, then you might have made it to one of my annual "Bacon Beerfests."  That's my tribute to this little strip of meat.

There's only a two rules to this annual party:

1. Bring something to eat with bacon on it, in it, or around it.
2. Bring a six pack of a beer that's not commonly available in local drinking establishments and that becomes communal.

This allows people to eat a lot of interesting foods made from bacon and try beers that they have never tried before.  My Untappd profile gets a good kick from this party.  Not to mention, after Eight years I can tell you that the foods brought get more and more interesting.  This is because everyone wants to out do what was made the year before.  Tying all these foods can be a bit daunting as we're now around 150 people that come for this event.  And I can promise that no one leaves hungry.

So, I figured we'll do a little talking about the health benefits of bacon. (wait..what?) And being how Beer is a huge topic of discussion on this blog, how it can help with that not so happy feeling you might end up with the following morning.

So, what's all this about health benefits of Bacon?  Say it isn't so?  You're telling me that I can eat bacon without all the guilt?  You really need to explain all this...

SO, I guess I will.  Everyone wonders why I don't weigh a bazillion pounds from all my Facebook posts about all the food I eat while I'm traveling for work.  It's easy, I don't eat like that all the time.  If I did, I most likely WOULD be a bazillion pounds.  Yet, the only thing y'all see are the amazing places that I get to eat while traveling.  Hey, we all watch Triple D, or Man vs. Food, and some of those places are just too good to NOT try.  (If you're on the road, there's one site that I'm never without while looking for these places.  The site is called TV Food Maps and you can look up all the places near your current location that has been on one of the shows)  But, the other times I end up having small breakfasts, end up missing lunches or quick small lunches...those are what you don't see.  So, it lets me eat all that yummy bacon when I can!

So, what's so healthy about bacon?  Let's take a look!

Two thick slices of bacon are only around 150 calories and from what I can find, has about 10 grams of that good ole healthy fat and none of it are those yucky trans-fats.  WHOO-HOO!  And while everyone complains about the sodium, it's not huge, and where I don't eat a high salt diet (which is crazy for a Southerner, I know) the sodium I get from bacon isn't a lot being I rarely use salt in any of my other foods.

You know what else is in that yummy bacony goodness?  Vitamins B1, B12, Choline, zinc and selenium.  So, what does that mean?  Well, one thing we know about the Vitamins B is that they are good for producing red blood cells.  We also know that a Vitamin B deficiency can cause fatigue and depression. So, that means that eating bacon actually gives you energy and makes you happy.

Yea, yea, yea, I'm not a doctor, so don't quote me, but I'm going to believe this and you can't tell me otherwise.  So, let's keep going down this road...because I LIKE IT!

Then we've got that Choline to talk about. Choline is good for a health nervous system.  So, they are saying that if you're pregnant, Choline is necessary for the development of a healthy brain and nervous system in a growing baby.  So, if you're pregnant, eat that good ole wonderful magic meat!!

So, we've got some good vitamins in there...let's talk about two important minerals, zinc and selenium. Zinc is responsible for many of the enzymes created in our bodies, boosting immune system function, and in DNA formation. So, don't worry about those zinc pills when you have a cold, just eat some bacon! And they say that selenium is an important antioxidant, fighting to keep those free radicals out of your system.  SO, bacon doesn't make you radical!  Now that's pretty rad...(don't judge)

Now we know that it's heather for us than we thought. Let's keep talking...

This blog talks a lot about beer.  We talk about good beer! That means that we're doing Beer clubs, Beer Pairing Dinners, we're working on brewing, Beer Festivals and Tastings...that means we tend to have a day or three where we might have "tried" just a few too many.  And that means that we have to suck it up the next day...

How can we make this next morning a little better?  You guessed it, Bacon!

So, from what I can find, Scientists at Newcastle University say that one of the best hangover cures is the bacon sandwich.

What?  A bacon sandwich?  GET OUT!

Elin Roberts, of Newcastle University's Centre for Life said, "Food doesn't soak up the alcohol but it does increase your metabolism helping you deal with the after-effects of over indulgence. So food will often help you feel better.

"Bread is high in carbohydrates and bacon is full of protein, which breaks down into amino acids. Your body needs these amino acids, so eating them will make you feel good."

Ms Roberts said, "Bingeing on alcohol depletes neurotransmitters too, but bacon contains a high level of aminos which tops these up, giving you a clearer head."

I guess that they also found out just by cooking the bacon, there's a chemical interaction that produces a smell that starts the healing process.  How cool is that, not only is the bacon itself good for you, the smell of bacon cooking is as well. Man, just looking this stuff up has made me love this amazing food even more.

From the article: The science at work, behind the tantalizing smell of bacon causing the hangover to begin dissipating involves the effect on the human body when you have the specific, particular amino acids and sugars released into the air when heated above 150 degrees centigrade. This creates a physiological effect known to scientists studying the effects of nutrition on the human body, as “The Maillard Reaction!”

So, there you go, Bacon is good for you!  And if you don't want a bacon sandwich, then maybe you could make yourself a Baconhenge.