The whole truth about bacon?

Everyone knows what bacon is: a cut of meat taken from the sides, back or belly of a pig. It is cured and often smoked then, after traveling through a net of middle-men, it arrives at our table as one of popular breakfast dishes.

And one more thing: you probably think bacon is very fatty and unhealthy - that's how it looks like, doesn't it? The truth is... well, not just the contrary, but different enough. Especially given the fact that there is a respectable number of various kinds of bacon - some of them are made mostly of fat, but certainly not all of them. The way we prepare them also has a big impact on bacon's dietary effect. So before you give up bacon in order to lose weight, you might want to learn about it a little more - perhaps there are less painful alternatives.

100g of raw bacon (about 5 slices) is worth 460 kcal. That's a lot, to be sure, especially if we consider that fat makes 45% of raw bacon weight. However, the beef, for example, has very similar calories' level.

Bacon can be leaner than you think.

So, before you toss bacon away, you have to consider the four important factors: bacon

Virtually no one eats raw bacon (with 45% of fat in it). We smoke it, grill it or boil it before we have it and all of these methods reduce the amount of fat. In the effect, lean bacon may have no more than 7-8% of fat, resulting in much less calories per 100g. The same is true for boiled bacon that can reach as few as 36 calories per slice.

The way we prepare bacon is just as important as the bacon itself. If we grill it, it loses the fat, but may gain it at the same time. However, if we prepare in on the barbecue for example, it will lose the fat forever along with the excess calories.

We don't usually have to eat a lot of bacon - just a slice or so. Bacon is easier to dose than other kinds of meat - an important factor for all slimmers.

Bacon is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2 and B6, necessary for the proper metabolism and, effectively, for the fat burning.

Unless you've decided to quit eating meat completely, bacon is not bad to include in your diet. Of course, we're talking about lean bacon and not the raw one. It is tasty, it gives you a lot of cooking alternatives and makes your diet richer - without the danger of having too much calories in one go.

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