The "Weird" Types of Meat with the Highest Nutrient Density

A "Super-Food" That's Actually Not a Plant-Based Food
by Catherine Ebeling - RN, BSN & Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialistco-authors of  
The Fat Burning Kitchen Program

While it's true that most "Superfoods" we usually talk about are plant-based foods, this article will show you an often overlooked animal-based superfood.
Did you know that most predatory animals instinctively eat the organ meats from their kill before moving to the muscle meats?  What do the animals know instinctively?  They know THAT'S where the highest nutrient density meat is located, and is best for them!  We're talking liver, kidneys, brains, hearts, etc.
Before you say "YUCK" and stop reading, there ARE ways to incorporate these super nutrient dense types of meat into your diet that actually taste good, and I'll also show you how nutrition packed these are.
In fact, did you know that one of the main reasons that the traditional Inuit populations in the Arctic were able to maintain good health while eating very little plant material is that they were smart enough to get a large amount of their nutrition needs from organ meats.  Even vitamin C can be found in organ meats despite that fact that most people falsely believe that plants are the only source of Vitamin C.
Organ meats are not the most popular cuts of meat in the US, but with the growing popularity of grass fed beef, there is renewed interest lately in these power-packed nutrition superstars. However, organ meat is still very popular in many countries.

Many cultures use almost the entire animal for food, including the organs. The most often-used organs are the liver, tongue, kidneys, brains, heart, stomach, and intestines. If you take a look at our dietary history, it is obvious that organ meat was very common and eaten even more often than the muscle meat of animals.
What did our ancestors know that we've ignored in recent times?
They realized that the organs contained some of the most concentrated sources of nutrients and were the most important part of the animal to eat.
Compared to regular cuts of muscle meat, organ meats are more densely packed with just about every nutrient, including heavy doses of B vitamins such as: B1, B2, B6, folic acid and vitamin B12.
Organ meats are also loaded with minerals like phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium and iodine, and provide the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Key to remember here is that animals raised outside on grass contain even higher levels of these essential nutrients than their grain-fed counterparts.
One of the few natural sources of Vitamin D

You've probably heard how Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins (actually a hormone precursor) and regulates more functions in your body than you can even imagine.  It's also one of the nutrients that many people are deficient in, especially those that live at higher latitudes and receive less sun (since sun exposure is your best source of Vitamin D).
Well, organ meats are known to have some of the highest concentrations of naturally occuring vitamin D of any food source, and including a source of organ meats into your diet once or twice a week, can especially help people in the winter times that might otherwise get a vitamin D deficiency.
Organ meats also contain high amounts of the essential fatty acids such as arachidonic acid, and omega-3 fats, including EPA and DHA. Yep, despite popular belief, fish and fish oils are not the only source of the important EPA and DHA... organ meats are loaded with these important nutrients.
Even if you don’t eat large servings of organ meat, you can add smaller amounts of organ meats to your favorite ground meat dishes, and help your family supercharge their nutrition.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of organ meats, especially those of grass-fed cattle... perhaps liver, heart and kidneys, and you may find that organ meats might take on a new attraction.
What about safety?
People usually ask about the safety of liver in particular of all of the organ meats. It is the liver's job to neutralize toxins in our body (or an animals body) from drugs or other chemicals, so obviously the best choice for liver is the grass fed kind, without added antibiotics or hormones.

Liver is known to be one of the most concentrated sources of natural vitamin A of any foods.

Natural vitamin A works to aid digestion, keeps sex organs/reproductive organs healthy, and is a powerful antioxidant in the body. Vitamin A also works in conjunction with 'activator X' or vitamin K2 found in grass fed butter, cheese, and grass fed dairy, to promote bone and arterial health. It is a fat-soluble vitamin, so if you eat grass fed butter with your liver the vitamin A will be absorbed better.

Liver is a great source of folic Acid, B vitamins and especially vitamin B12, which help with fatigue, mental ability, nerve health, and depression, as well as preventing anemia.

Liver also contains one of the best, most usable sources for the body, of iron. Iron is necessary for many functions in the body including formation of hemoglobin, brain development and function, regulation of body temperature, muscle activity and catecholamine metabolism, to name just a few. A lack of iron will have a direct effect on the immune system; it diminishes the number of T- cells and the production of antibodies.
Iron is essential to oxygen to the blood cells. The primary function of iron is oxygen transport and cell respiration. For an anemic person, fatigue is one of the most noticeable symptoms. The iron in liver is one of most easily absorbable and usable sources of iron for our bodies.

Did you know that liver contains an anti-fatigue factor, which is probably why endurance athletes have always liked liver to maintain stamina and energy? The improvement in endurance is likely to do with improving the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood cells; increasing endurance and strength in athletes.

Liver contains many nitrogen-containing compounds that are building blocks for DNA & RNA. In combination with the B vitamins, this makes it extremely helpful to people with Alzheimers or other types of dementia.

While liver is highly nutritious, its precious nutrients are very much affected by heat, so never cook it more than rare or medium rare to preserve the digestive enzymes and nutrients. When cooked too long, liver will be rubbery, chewy and have a strong liver taste. Soaking liver in lemon juice helps to cut down on the strong taste that some people don’t like.

Get liver in your regular diet at least once a week if possible for maximum benefit of its high levels of nutrients. One of the best ways to enjoy liver, especially for those who are not fans of cooked liver, is grass fed liverwurst and braunsweiger.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the taste of liver, but I particularly enjoy liverwurst, especially when it's from healthy grass-fed animals.
Note: the ONLY healthy source of liverwurst or braunsweiger is from a healthy grass fed source that doesn't use nitrates and nitrites in the processing.  The brand above is one of the only brands I've found that is actually healthy and isn't loaded with nitrates and preservatives.
Braunsweiger contains liver and beef with a delicious spicy seasoning—great for sandwiches. Liverwurst contains power-packed beef liver, kidneys and heart.
The liverwurst and braunsweiger in the links above are unique in that they come from healthy grass-fed animals (unlike the unhealthy sources they will come from at your typical grocery store), and also contain some high-antioxidant spices and sea salt.

Beef heart — because it is a muscle-- beef heart is somewhat similar to other cuts of meat like steak, ground beef, roasts, etc. although it is a heavier, more dense muscle than others though. But heart meat carries a bigger punch of protein and unique nutrients.

The heart is a very concentrated source of the supernutrient, CoQ10.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is produced by the human body and is necessary for the basic functioning of cells, as well as optimizing the heart’s rhythm. CoQ10 levels are reported to decrease with age and to be lower in some patients with some chronic diseases such as heart conditions, muscular dystrophies, Parkinson's disease, cancer, diabetes, and HIV / AIDS.

CoQ10 has been shown to be very effective for improving cardiac function. Scientists have also found that CoQ10 provides benefits to other organs whose cells require this high-level energy metabolism such as the brain and kidneys, as well. In addition, prescription drugs such as statins deplete the body of CoQ10, so replacing this vital nutrient is extremely important for these people.

Beef heart also contains Selenium, Phosphorus & Zinc, along with essential amino acids that help build muscle, store energy and boost stamina and endurance. A meal of organ meats will charge you with extra energy, noticeable right after you eat it. The heart also contains twice as much collagen and elastin than regular meat, which is good for the skin and connective tissue, and actually helps prevent wrinkling and aging.

Because heart is such a dense muscle meat, it is a little bit tougher than other meats,  but marinating the meat in an acidic-based marinade really helps to tenderize it and add delicious flavor as well.
Heart can easily be added to your favorite ground beef recipes for added nutrition with little change in taste. Get brave and try some great tasting grass fed headcheese for your next lean energy snack. Headcheese contains beef tongue and beef heart.

Now you know that there IS such a thing as a non plant-based Superfood!
So, while you may need to get up your nerve to try organ meats, you may be pleasantly surprised! Braunsweiger, liverwurst, and headcheese are all delicious ways to enjoy organ meats if you are the slightest bit squeamish.
For the more adventuresome ones, cook up some grass fed liver or heart for your next dinner, and feel the power boost you get from that high-powered nutrition!

Do you have a copy of our brand-new Fat-Burning Kitchen Program?  If not, what are you waiting for?!? 
Grab your copy today and turn your kitchen and your body into a fat-burning machine
Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to copy this link and email it to your friends, family, and coworkers.
Sincerely,

Catherine Ebeling - RN, BSN
Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author - The Truth About Six Pack Abs

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The Top 7 Tips to STOP Getting Sick

Understand the REAL cause of sickness, and strengthen your immune system with these unique tips

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of the best-sellers -- The Fat Burning Kitchen  & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

Note: The tips in this article can work anytime of the year to keep you healthy, strengthen your immune system, and prevent you from getting sick...not just in the winter months!
First of all, let us clear up a HUGE misconception about why more people get sick in the winter compared to warmer times of the year.  Let's talk about cold temperatures first.  You should realize that there's no such thing as "catching a cold" from cold temperatures.   I can't believe how many people still have this huge misconception that cold temperatures can make you sick...
This is blatantly false... Cold temperatures do NOT make you sick!
In fact, did you know that there are multiple studies that actually show that exposure to cold increases your immunity?  It's true!  One study I read recently even showed that cold therapy such as ice water baths or other cold water exposure (such as cold water swimming) stimulates an improvement in your immune system.  Other studies also show that cold water therapy can improve your immune system.
What about so-called "germs"?
So are there really more germs and cold & flu viruses floating around in the winter?  No, of course not!  In fact, some medical articles I've read have indicated that there might actually be a slightly larger amount of viruses all around us in the summer due to more favorable conditions for their survival on surfaces.
So then why do more people get sick in the winter?  Well, I'll give you a hint... it's not the temperature, but rather the strength of the suns rays, and how this affects your health... In winter in the northern hemisphere (Canada, US, Europe, etc) sicknesses spike, but at the same time, it's summer in the southern hemisphere (South America, Australia, New Zealand, etc), and while sicknesses are spiking in the northern hemisphere, sicknesses are at their lowest point in the southern hemisphere since it's their summer.
And then when we're in summer in the northern hemisphere and most sicknesses go away, it's winter in the southern hemisphere, so colds, flu, and other sicknesses spike in the southern hemisphere in July and August.
So is it the warm temperatures that decreases sickness?  Nope... It's actually all about the strength of the sun's UVB rays, and how much vitamin D your body produces due to the UVB rays on your skin!
There are 2 theories that many people pass around as to why more colds, flu, and sickness occur in the winter depending on which part of the world you're in...
Theory 1.  It may have to do with people generally spending more time indoors in the winter and thereby being exposed to more germs in enclosed buildings.  It's a nice theory, but people are generally still in offices from 9-5 all week long whether it's summer or winter.  As you'll see, theory 2 is the REAL culprit!
Theory 2.   The reason people get sick more in the winter is mostly due to a drastic reduction in their body's level of Vitamin D, which is directly responsible for how strong their immune system is.
The suns rays are too weak in the winter generally (depending on the latitude that you live), and therefore, Vitamin D levels in the body drop significantly, which reduces immunity. Most people don't realize how important sunlight and Vitamin D levels really are towards so many functions inside their body, including immune system and hormone production and balance.
Even for people that get outdoors in the winter often, if you live in the northern hemisphere to the North of an imaginary line from approximately Atlanta to Los Angeles, the suns rays (UVB rays) are not strong enough in the fall and winter months (approximately October through early March) because of the low sun angle in the sky to stimulate any significant Vitamin D production inside your body.  My blog post here describes how to figure out what time frame your "vitamin D winter" runs from at your exact latitude.
This aspect of lack of Vitamin D production and lowered immune strength in the winter months is what is actually the REAL reason why more sickness goes around in the winter.  So you can silently chuckle to yourself the next time that someone tells you to "bundle up" so you don't catch a cold.
So how can you boost your immune system so that your body fights off sickness before it takes hold of you?
So here is my little ritual that I have been using for a few years now and really seems to keep me from getting any colds, flu, or any sickness at all.
As a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I was legitimately sick. I think it's been 15 years since I've actually been sick.  How many times have you and your family been sick in the last 9 years?  Most people seem to get sick at least once a month in the winters.
Every time I feel a cold or something starting to come on, I do this ritual, strengthen my immune system, and my body always fights off the cold or sickness before I actually get full-blown sick.

Here are my 7 most powerful tips to boost your immune system:

1. Focus on Vitamin D (but NOT in "fortified" foods or synthetic forms in pills)
This is probably THE most important of all of these tips!
If you get your vitamin D levels tested, you generally want to be between 40-80 ng/ml. Once you get above 50 ng/ml, that's where the real benefits start to happen with a maximized immune system and balanced hormones.
You might be surprised to know that MOST people have low vitamin D levels (especially in the winter), and a lot of people are surprised to find that they could be dangerously low.  Some people I know who thought they were reasonably healthy actually had levels below 20 ng/ml (one friend's level was measured at a shockingly dangerous 11 ng/ml), which is a range that could severely limit your immune system and hormone balance (and explains the frequent colds and hormone problems that they were having).
Personally, I found out that my winter levels a couple years ago were lower than I thought (around 35 ng/ml despite taking cod liver oil a couple times a week) and then after getting a few months of summer sun, my levels had jumped up to 52 ng/ml by the end of July, which is much healthier.  This was without any Vitamin D supplements as I wanted to get a good idea of where my levels stood from just food intake and sunshine as my sources.
Keep in mind though that I'm an avid hiker and mountain biker in the summer, and I live at high elevation (7500 feet above sea level), so I get a good deal of daily sun, which is why my levels jumped from 35-52 ng/ml after a couple months of daily summer sun.  For people that are in offices daily, you'll still most likely need supplemental Vitamin D3 to keep blood levels of vitamin D from dropping too low.
When it comes to Vitamin D, you need to be careful about artificial forms of vitamin D in many vitamin pills, as artificial vitamin forms are almost always either ineffective or possibly even detrimental compared to natural forms.  Vitamin D2 is generally the artificial version in multi-vitamins, although natural D2 does exist in some foods like mushrooms.  Natural Vitamin D from either cod liver oil and/or an oil-based D3 supplement are the best options in my opinion for the times of the year you're not getting enough sun.
Personally, this is the oil-based D3 supplement that I take during the winter now and also on days in the summer if I happen to go a few days without any sun.  I alternate this oil-based D3 supplement with a fermented cod liver oil throughout the winter, so that I get good natural vitamin D from various sources.
Keep in mind that it's best to get your vitamin D naturally from the sun if you can.  The sun is the absolute best source of vitamin D, and leads to a powerful strengthening of your immune system when your body can naturally produce Vitamin D from moderate sun exposure.  When the UVB rays (not UVA rays) from mid-day sun hit your skin, it reacts with oils in your skin to produce vitamin D that is slowly adbsorbed by your body.  Note that sunscreens block the ability of your body to produce vitamin D, and most sunscreens also contain carcinogenic chemicals that absorb into your blood stream.
Here is a previous article I did on how to get sun exposure in a healthy way without damaging your skin
I know not everybody can take a tropical vacation every winter, but if you can, it's best to try to take it right smack dab in the middle of the winter (when your vitamin D levels have dropped to their lowest)... getting even a few days to a week of good sun closer to the equator in the middle of winter can really help increase your vitamin D levels and strengthen your immune system for at least several weeks after the trip.
Remember that this does NOT mean getting burned in the sun... it means getting a moderate amount of sun on large portions of your body (not just your face) for approx 15-40 minutes per day WITHOUT sunscreen on (since sunscreen blocks the UV rays that directly stimulate the vitamin D production in your body).   Also, as a warning about sunscreens, see this article here about why sunscreens can possibly cause cancer and increase body fat.
Everybody is different based on their skin tone... very pale skin tones may only need 10-15 minutes or so in full sun in the middle of the day to get adequate vitamin D before any skin damage occurs, but darker skin tones may need a slightly longer time (sometimes 40-60 minutes) in the sun to produce adequate vitamin D.  To protect your skin, it's essential to get enough sun without sunscreen on, but NOT get burned.
In general, the UVB rays are only strongest from about 10 am to 3 pm to trigger Vitamin D production in your body (depending on time of year, latitude, and altitude).  For example, in NY city, while you may be able to produce vitamin D in your skin between 9am to 4pm in June or July, that time frame when UVB rays are strong enough might have shrunk to only 11am to 1pm by the end of September... and by late October in NYC, according to charts of sun height in the sky, you can't produce any vitamin D even in mid-day sun as the sun is too low in the sky and UVB rays too weak.
With that said, I understand that a tropical vacation in the winter is not possible for everybody's schedule based on either work or finances, so...
Since you may not be going on a tropical vacation this winter, how can you still keep Vitamin D levels from falling dangerously low in your body?
Well, the best food sources of natural Vitamin D are egg yolks (from hens fed a healthy diet and allowed to get their own sunshine), fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel, organ meats, and some mushrooms (some portobella mushrooms and maitake mushroom are fairly good sources of vitamin D, although the type of vitamin D in mushrooms might not be the best utilized source in your body).  However, keep in mind that it's tough to get enough vitamin D in the winter from food sources alone.
But what I do to make sure I'm at least getting a decent amount of the best absorbed vitamin D is to take a moderate dose of fermented cod liver oil daily in the winter to make sure my vitamin D levels don't fall too low.  Make sure to take only small to moderate doses of cod liver oil, as large doses can possibly give you an overdose of Vitamin A.
What I've done lately is to only take cod liver oil about 3 days per week, to prevent taking in too much vitamin A.  On the other 4 days per week (only in the winter), I take an oil-based vitamin D3 supplement. It's important to choose an oil-based D3 supplement as it's better utilized by your body.
I'm also a big fan of Prograde Nutrition's natural VGF-25 multi-vitamin, which derives it's vitamin D from natural fish liver oil instead of a synthetic form of vitamin D.  All of the other vitamins in VGF-25 (which stands for "25 veggies, greens, and fruits") are naturally derived too instead of most multi-vitamins that you find at your corner store that are synthetic.
By the way, fortified milk has added synthetic vitamin D, so it is NOT a good source.  In fact, I don't trust any "fortified" foods at all, including terribly unhealthy breakfast cereals which claim to be good sources of vitamin D... not so!  Also make sure to read this article, which explains how our food supply has been modified in recent decades and now lacks the vitamin D that it used to contain decades ago.
2. Garlic to strengthen your immune system!
Garlic is one of the most potent of all superfoods!  Not only does high dose garlic go back thousands of years for treatment of sickness, but recent studies back up the legendary claims for garlic boosting your immune system.
What's best though -- "aged" garlic pills, whole garlic in foods, capsules, etc?  I can't seem to find a consensus on this one, so what I simply try to do is use a variety of sources, including garlic powder on a lot of my foods, fresh chopped garlic in meals, and also a garlic capsule or two each day.
If I feel a possible cold or sickness coming on, I really start loading garlic into my foods heavily and I take a few extra garlic capsules that day too.

3. Kombucha tea, Kefir, Fermented foods (and other sources of probiotics) strengthen your immune system
Kombucha tea is a fermented tea (naturally effervescent) that contains billions of friendly gut organisms (probiotics) that help to strengthen your immune system by bolstering your levels of good organisms in your gut, which provides a first level of defense against pathogens from things you ingest.
Remember that 70% of your immune system lies in your gut flora and the health of the friendly organisms in there to protect you against pathogens and sickness.
You can find bottles of Kombucha tea or other probiotic drinks at health food stores such as Whole Foods.
Kefir is a cultured/fermented dairy drink that's been used for thousands of years as a health elixer in many parts of the world.  Kefir is an even better source of probiotics than Kombucha tea, but keep in mind that variety is best when it comes to probiotics, so use various sources for the best benefits to your digestive system and immune system.  Kefir is also the easiest form of dairy to digest due to the pre-digestion that's done by the probiotic microorganisms, and due to this, kefir is generally 99% lactose free.  Read this article to see why Kefir is a more powerful source of gut-friendly probiotics than yogurt.
When I feel any sickness coming on, I start loading up on Kombucha tea and Kefir, drinking them both throughout the day.  I've started seeing other probiotic drinks on the market recently too, so just make sure to look for one that has very minimal sugar per serving (3-6 grams per 8 oz serving is acceptable, but much more than that is too sugary).  Kevita is one brand of probiotic drink that is really delicious and has minimal sugar, while also containing around 8-10 Billion organisms per bottle I believe.
You can also get beneficial probiotics from fermented foods such as sauerkraut (non-canned), yogurt, kimchi, and other fermented foods.  There are also plenty of probiotic supplements you can take, one of which is a delicious drink called Athletic Greens, which contains 7 Billion probiotics per serving among 76 other superfood ingredients.  I start off every morning with this superfoods drink mixed with fresh squeezed lemon and unsweetened iced tea... Great stuff!
Another probiotic product that I personally take is called Pro-x10 and is one of the most powerful probiotics I've come across yet, with the equivalent of 50 Billion probiotics, and a micro-encapsulation technology that gets more live probiotics to your intestines, so they don't die in your stomach.

4. Green tea, Chamomile Tea, and other teas
There is evidence that green tea and chamomile tea can help aid in strengthening the immune system.
Even if the effect is small, you can't go wrong because both are loaded with powerful antioxidants unique to each tea.
For that reason, I try to drink a couple cups of green tea with a small bit of raw honey early in the day, and then at night, I have a couple cups of chamomile or mint tea.
This isn't a bad idea even for a regular habit, but it's even more important when you feel a sickness possibly coming on.  I also drink a lot of other teas too such as Rooibos tea, which is thought to be even higher in antioxidants than green tea.

5. Loading up on antioxidants
We already know how important antioxidants are to overall health as well as immune system support.
For this reason, I make sure to really load up on antioxidant-rich fruits, berries, teas, red wine, unsweetened organic cocoa (in smoothies, etc), and veggies to help prevent sickness.
Sometimes I make what I call my "Superhuman smoothie", which I believe can really bolster your immune system, with loads of powerful antioxidant-rich berries, a few veggies, raw cacao, maca, spirulina, chia seeds, and any other superfoods I can think to throw in there.


6. Light exercise (yes - light exercise, not hard)
When you feel a sickness coming on, a super-high intensity workout is not a good idea, as hard training forces the body to do a lot of recovery, this at a time when your body needs all of it's efforts on trying to fight off the oncoming sickness.
Although I usually recommend high intensity training most times... when sickness might be coming on, it's just a good idea to get some light exercise instead.
Personally, I like to get outside for some fresh air and go for a hike or go snowshoeing in the winter. These aren't very strenuous for me, so they won't cause my body to be forced to do a lot of recovery... but just getting out in the fresh air and getting the circulation going I feel is good to help the body fight off the sickness.

7. Avoid ALL processed foods, wheat-based foods, and sweetened soft drinks
If you're serious about your health and getting lean for life, this should be an everyday rule for you anyway (except maybe for cheat meals)...
However, when you might have a sickness coming on, this is no time to bombard your body with processed foods, inflammatory omega-6 oils (soybean oil, corn oil, etc), fried foods, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugars, wheat-based foods or chemical additives.
All of these force your body to do extra work to deal with all of this junk and the internal inflammation that they cause in your body.  And by the way, grain-based foods like bread, cereal, muffins, pasta, and bagels are a big culprit in causing internal inflammation and disrupting normal gut function, so avoid grains as much as possible.  In case you're new to the science of Paleolithic nutrition, humans don't actually need grains to survive...grains were never a part of the ancient human diet until agriculture came around only about ten thousand years ago. If you haven't seen this article yet, here are 11 reasons why whole wheat damages your body.( see my articles on my blog)
Instead, (especially when you might be getting sick) you need to give your body only wholesome unprocessed foods that are only 1 ingredient and that we were meant to digest most efficiently...fruits, berries, veggies, eggs, nuts, seeds, grass-fed meats, etc.
I also have a daily serving of immune system boosting Athletic Greens, which is surprisingly delicious, plus contains loads of probiotics and antioxidants, and other immune supporting superfoods (76 superfoods mixed into one delicious drink!).
These 7 tips will go a LONG way to helping to ward off that sickness that is trying to get a hold of you... Here's to a healthy strong body!
Note: I'm not a doctor, and none of these tips are prescriptions for any individual person... they are simply the steps I've personally used over the years to successfully fight off sickness pretty much every single time.  Again, I haven't been legitimately sick in at LEAST 9 years now that I use these steps!

Please feel free to share this page with your friends and family to keep them healthy and strong!

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The Top 20 Food Rules You NEED to Know to be Truly Lean & Healthy

Everything you wanted to know about protein, carbs, calories, probiotics, vitamin D, cooking oils, foods that burn fat, foods that make you fat, foods that can kill you slowly, and much more.
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers: The Truth About Six Pack Abs & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging
This article is one that you're going to want to bookmark to come back and reference at any time.  And you'll also want to share this page with all your friends and family to help spread what true healthy nutrition is all about.  Seriously, there's more great information about nutrition on this page than a lot of entire books.
I'm going to rattle off a bunch of random important facts (in no particular order) about food and eating healthy that you need to know.  I'll also refer to any of my previously published articles where appropriate, and where a more full explanation might be needed if you want more details on that topic.  All references to other articles will open in a new window so that you can stay on this page when you're done any of the other reference articles.
Before we start this list, let's establish a big picture view first, before we dive into various smaller topics like specific foods...
The Big Picture View (most people have never thought of food in this way)
Let me give you something to think about, and this is VERY big picture and VERY important... if we took away modern society and plopped you on a deserted island, what is the #1 most important thing in your life at that point?   That's right... FOOD!  What will I eat to survive and thrive.  At that point, you can forget about careers, technology, video games, television, nightlife, cell phones, and just about every other aspect of modern life... the single most important thing you need to focus on at that point is what to eat.
However, in our modern day, most of us don't have to think about what to eat at all, and in fact, most people NEVER think about what they put in their mouths... they just eat whatever they see in front of them that they know tastes good, without any thought about whether it's an appropriate food for humans to eat.
You can call that the "See-Food Diet"... you "see" the food and you eat it.
Isn't that a major disconnect?  Food is quite literally one of the most important things in our daily lives, yet barely anybody thinks about the ramifications of what they eat and how it will affect their health and the quality of their life (until, of course, they lose their health).
Since food is one of the most important things in our lives for our quality of life, don't you think that it should be a priority as one of the fundamental topics that children learn about throughout school?  It should be a priority, but it isn't.  Kids get a thorough education on topics such as Math, History, Science, Languages, etc, but never get more than a couple hours in their entire 12 years in school about the most important thing in our lives...what to eat.
If you think about it, that's absolutely insane...  One of THE single most important aspects of our lives is never really taught to children in school.  And parents don't generally pick up the slack and teach kids nutrition because they were never taught about it either.  This is a modern day phenomenon because the abundance of food all around us in modern day life means that we don't have to think about what's appropriate to eat.
If you want to be lean and truly healthy, obviously you NEED to think differently than the average person who eats the "SEE-food diet" where they eat without thinking.
There needs to be some simple rules to follow if you want to successfully navigate the current food landscape out there where so many foods are making you fat and sick.
And THAT's why I wrote this page for you... to simplify and give you some simple food rules to be lean and healthy, yet still ENJOY food.
Food Rules Simplified
Okay, so let's simplify nutrition a bit here... everyone out there seems confused about what is the best "diet" to be on.  People seem to love to always jump from fad diet to fad diet such as low-fat diets, atkins diets, south beach diets, grapefruit diets, detox diets, vegetarian diets, and other sometimes ridiculous diets that most times are based on one person's opinion or marketing scheme (or personal agenda) rather than based on actual science.
The only "diet" that's actually based on real science is the study of paleolithic nutrition (aka - paleo diet).  But I hate to call it "paleo diet", because it's not like any other fad diet, since it's based on real archaeological nutritional science about what our ancestors ate before the agricultural revolution came around.  The idea is simply that for the first 99.5% of our existence (ancestors back as far as 1.9 Million years ago, homo erectus), we only ate wild plants and animals, while for the last 0.5% of our existence (since the agricultural revolution in the last 5,000-10,000 years), humans now almost entirely eat farmed plants and animals.  The biggest change this represents is the massive inclusion of grains in our current diet (and what our animals are fed) now compared to our Paleolithic ancestors.
There are lots of other changes this represents too, such as the presence of chemicals in our food supply (pesticides, herbicides, xenoestrogens, etc) that didn't exist in the ancient diet, as well as the dramatic changes caused by hybridization of many of our foods, which creates versions of fruits and vegetables bred more for size, sweetness, and appearance as opposed to natural nutrition... this aspect has decreased micronutrient content in the modern day food supply (just look at wild blueberries vs cultivated blueberries as an example of that with wild berries coming in at more than DOUBLE the antioxidants from ORAC testing).
Many people think that we don't know what ancient humans ate... but this is false. 
Nutritional archaeologists know pretty convincingly what ancient humans ate as they study a lot of evidence such as ancient fossilized feces remains as well as studying isotope ratios in ancient human bone samples from all over the world through every time period in history to determine ratios of animals vs plants that ancient humans ate -- which by the way, was always an omnivorous mixture of plants and animals, and a fairly high protein intake...there was no such thing as ancient paleolithic vegans...any Nutritional Archaelogist can confirm that ancient vegans simply didn't exist.  We were all omnivores that ate different ratios of plants and animals based on what part of the world, what latitude we lived, and the time of the year.
So what exactly did our Paleolithic ancestors eat for the first 99.5% of our existence, representing what we are still programmed to eat?  Simple:

• Wild meat, fish, and seafood  (animals that ate the right foods, unlike most of our current factory-farmed meats and farmed fish)
• fruits
• veggies
• eggs (various types)
• nuts
• roots (sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, etc)
• seeds

Grains were only a very TINY fraction of the ancient Paleolithic diet (and only in certain parts of the world) as there was no way to process large amounts of grain back in that day into flour, so amounts of wild grain would have been small such as a handful or two of gathered grains added to a meal of meat and veggies.  As you can see, this is vastly different from the modern human diet that includes grain at almost every meal and in very large quantities in cereals, breads, pasta, muffins, bagels, etc.
One other note... I mention "wild meats" above, and for most people, that's not realistic since you might not hunt. However, as you'll see below in my 20 rules, grass-fed free-range meats can have the same health benefits as wild meats, while avoiding the harmful nutritional components that come with factory-farmed grain-fed meats.

So with that big picture explained...let's get into the details of my top 20 food rules:

Food Rule #1.  Not all carbs are bad, but...
Carbohydrates don't need to be eliminated... they are not inherently "bad" in reasonable quantities.  But grains and processed sugars in particular should be minimized.  So to make things simple, you will be leaner and healthier if you get most of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables instead of grains and processed sugar.
The biggest problem with grains (breads, cereals, pasta, bagels, etc), aside from the abuse to your blood sugar regulation system (pancreas and insulin sensitivity), is that grains typically contain a lot of anti-nutrients which prevent your body from absorbing some minerals, as well as gluten and other substances that cause chronic gut inflammation and even possibly digestive system damage in some cases of severe gluten intolerance.
Please note that potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other tubers have less problems in terms of digestive system inflammation than grains do. Tubers were a more common part of the ancient human diet as a source of carbohydrates than grains ever were.  Potatoes and sweet potatoes can be much better tolerated by very active people that have no problem burning off the extra carbohydrates.
What do I personally do?  Well, I avoid grains as much as possible, except on 1 cheat day per week.  That will always be a meal dining out, so that we're never tempted with breads and cereals in our house.  I eat whole fruits (never juice) and veggies daily, and might have an occasional potato or sweet potato once or twice a week.
Food Rule #2.  Healthy vs deadly protein sources
Focus on quality protein sources such as wild game, wish fish and seafood, grass-fed meats, and free-roaming organically fed eggs, while trying to avoid most farmed meats and farmed fish that were fed mostly grains and kept in unhealthy "factory farm" environments. 
Food Rule #3.  Your "Omegas" are out of whack
Most people need to be more aware of the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of the food they eat.
The ancestral human diet of the Paleolithic era appears that it had a ratio of approximately 1:1 to 2:1 omega-6 fats to omega-3 fats.  The current average western diet contains anywhere from 20:1 to 30:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats due to the high consumption of grain and soy-based foods and derivatives like soybean oil and corn oil that is pervasive in the food supply (and don't forget the corn and soy that's used as the main animal feed component instead of natural forage).  This is a major problem causing massive inflammation in most people, and one of the causes of many degenerative diseases.
In order to balance this out better, you need to AVOID corn oils, soybean oils, cottonseed oils (or anything cooked in these oils), and minimize grain-fed meats and farmed fish that were fed grains.  Instead, focus on wild fish, grass-fed meats, grass-fed dairy, free-range eggs, as well as other foods that can help you get more omega-3's like chia seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, and fish oil and/or krill oil, which are vitally important sources of DHA and EPA.  I personally take both fish oil and krill oil, as the fish oil has a larger quantity of DHA and EPA (and more omega-3 volume overall), while the krill oil has more antioxidant benefits from the astaxanthin and a higher absorption rate than the fish oil.
Take note that animal sources of omega-3 fats are MUCH more powerful to your health than plant sources of omega-3's like walnuts, chia, and flax.  This is because animal sources of omega-3's already contain DHA and EPA already converted whereas plant sources don't, and your body is very ineffecient at converting plant sources of omega-3 fats to DHA and EPA.

Food Rule #4.  80,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi?
Aside from processed sugar, if I had to pick 3 of the WORST foods in the average western diet that would be most important to start avoiding, it would be corn, soy, and wheat, and their derivatives such as corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, soy protein, etc. Do you want to hear an appalling statistic about what the average person eats... Currently, the average adult eating a typical modern western diet in countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, etc consumes approximately 67% of their total caloric intake from only 3 foods -- CORN, SOY, AND WHEAT (and their derivatives).
Keep in mind that ancestral humans have historically eaten over 80,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi throughout human history, yet modern humans are getting 67% of their calories from only 3 foods. That's a problem! 
Food Rule #5.  Beware of hidden sugars
Beware of hidden calories and inflammation-causing ingredients in condiments and dressings.  You can read my article here on my vote for the top 5 picks for healthiest condiments as well as the worst.
Most people don't realize just how many calories and metabolism damaging high fructose corn syrup they are ingesting in things like ketchup, salad dressings, cocktail sauce, marinades, etc.  For example, 1 Tbsp of ketchup has 5 grams of sugar (usually from HFCS), but the average person uses 2-4 Tbsp of ketchup with a typical burger and fries meal.  That's anywhere from 10-20 grams of EXTRA sugar just from the ketchup alone, and not even counting the sweetened drink that most people have with the meal too.
Be a label reader and avoid HFCS!  And despite deceptive advertisements out there from the corn refining industry that claim "HFCS is no worse than sugar and is natural", this is far from the truth as you can read in this article on my blog that shows why HFCS is indeed worse than plain sugar, despite them both being terrible for you.

Food Rule #6.  Sugar is TOXIC in your body
Speaking of sugar, most people don't realize that they are addicted to sugar, and just how bad sugar is for your body internally.  I hear people say things all the time when eating candy or drinking a sweetened drink that "oh, it's just sugar, I can burn it off easy".  Oh, if it were only that simple. 
That's right... not only does sugar make you fat, it's one of the direct causes of diabetes, heart disease, as well as feeding cancer cells.  Avoid sugar as much as possible with the exception of a small amount of natural sugars in a piece of daily fruit.

Food Rule #7.  Do NOT eat these oils or foods with these added

AVOID soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and other cheap "vegetable oils" as much as possible.  These oils are highly inflammatory in your body, disrupt your omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid balance in your body, and also are typically made of genetically modified crops, of which the long term health consequences are not yet fully understood by scientists.
I have an article on my blog saying what oils to have and ones to avoid.  You might be surprised to see why fats you falsely thought were unhealthy such as butter, lard, and coconut oil are actually the healthiest fats/oils to cook with.

Food Rule #8.  Canola oil is terrible for you
Avoid canola oil as much as possible... despite the false marketing claims that canola oil is "healthy" and contains lots of monounsaturated fats just like olive oil, canola oil is NOTHING like olive oil from a biochemical standpoint and how it reacts internally in your body. Note that most canola oil is genetically modified too, so yet another reason to avoid it.

Food Rule #9.  Why you should LOVE butter & cream!
Butter vs margarine?  I have no idea why anybody is still debating this... I use grass-fed butter on a daily basis, but I would NEVER even touch margarine... not even the so-called "healthy" margarines, which usually still contain inflammatory soybean or corn oils.  REAL butter is the only answer in this case.
Also, it's not just butter that's good for you... dairy fat in the form of grass-fed cream, aged cheeses, full-fat yogurts and other dairy fat has even been shown in some studies to PROTECT your arteries from clogging!  Don't believe me?  Read this article for the full story:
Food Rule #10.  STOP avoiding egg yolks -- eat whole eggs
Egg whites vs whole eggs?  Once again, I have no idea why anyone is still debating this.  Most of the general population has still not gotten the memo that egg yolks are actually the healthiest part of the egg, with over 90% of the micronutrients and antioxidants, and 100% of the fat soluble vitamins that are so important for our health.  Why anybody would only eat egg whites and avoid yolks is beyond comprehension.  And no, the dietary cholesterol in eggs is not bad for your heart... in fact, it increases your good HDL cholesterol.  I have a full article on my blog why whole eggs are much healthier than egg whites, help increase your fat burning hormones, and why I personally eat 3-4 whole eggs per day and how this helps to stay in single digit body fat range.

Food Rule #11.  Beware of chemicals in your foods
Let's start with this one to avoid:  This additive makes you 3x more likely to be overweight.
Also, beware of the carcinogenic and estrogenic chemical BPA that is commonly found in some canned foods and bottled drinks. BPA has been linked to increased abdominal fat, birth defects, cancer, and more.  Remember that canned tomatoes are one of the worst offenders with highest concentrations of harmful BPA because of the acidic leaching effect of the tomatoes.
Food Rule #12.  Why I haven't used a microwave in 10 years
In my opinion, it's best to AVOID microwaved foods.  Some scientists believe that microwaving food changes the the biochemistry of the food in ways that cause negative effects in the body compared to raw or conventionally cooked food.  Think of this from a logical perspective... the human digestive system evolved over a period of approximately 1.9 million years (our ancesters homo erectus & neanderthal, as well as current homo sapiens) eating a combination of raw and cooked food that was cooked with either fire or hot water, not microwaves.
Microwaves are a new invention which cooks food in an entirely different way than hot water or fire, creating damaged molecules in food that were not found in nature previously, and that our body does not know how to deal with.  Logically, it's easy to understand how this could have health consequences.  Read this article on my blog here for a full description of why I never eat microwaved foods anymore and have not for at least the last 10 years.  We also show you how easy it is to live without a microwave and heat up your foods in healthier ways.

Food Rule #13.  Add herbs and spices to everything (your body will thank you)
One of the healthiest things to include in your daily diet are herbs and spices.  In fact, herbs and spices typically contain LOADS more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables.  Spices are extremely powerful, and almost medicinal for your body.  Turmeric has been shown to have protective effects against cancer.  Cinnamon has powerful blood sugar controlling effects.  Many spices boost your immune system.  Read this article on my blog to see our top 10 votes for the most powerful spices that boost your metabolism and protect your body from degenerative disease.
Bottom line...spices rule!  Use them generously in all of your cooking for the best health benefits.

Food Rule #14.  Saturated fats have been falsely accused
Remember that despite all of the bad nutrition information you hear from the government and the media, saturated fats have been falsely villified in the past, and are much healthier for you than most people realize.  In fact, in recent years, scientists have become a lot more clear that saturated fats are actually important for health and hormone balance, your cell membranes, and many other vital functions in your body.  You can read my article here on my blog about why saturated fats aren't so bad after all, and can even be healthy sometimes depending on source.
If you're interested in more of the actual science about why saturated fat can be healthy for you, I have an article below written by a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry called The Truth about Saturated Fat - it's a must read if you want to understand the science about why saturated fats have been falsely villified and how to enjoy these foods that have always been part of the ancestral human diet.

Food Rule #15.  Artificial sweeteners make you fatter (and damage your gut too?)
Always avoid artificial sweeteners!   Just because they don't contain calories doesn't mean they don't harm your body.  In fact, many studies link artificial sweetener use to weight gain.  New research is also showing that artificial sweeteners can "trick" your body into releasing insulin due to cells in your mouth and stomach that sense the sweetness and are expecting sugar.  Remember that high insulin levels can cause body fat deposition. Also, triggering insulin in this way can cause more cravings for carbohydrates and sugar in the hours after eating or drinking the artificially sweetened product.
You can read my article here on my blog with more details about why artificial sweeteners are terrible for your health, including possible long term health consequences such as cancer.
Also, did you know that Splenda can DAMAGE your gut health.

Food Rule #16.  Vitamin D controls your immune system, hormone balance, and makes you younger
Pay attention to your Vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D is one of the most important substances in your body.  It's one of the single most important things in your body that control your hormones as well as your immune system.  If you get sick often or have hormone imbalances, it's quite likely that the cause is linked to low vitamin D levels.
Unfortunately, it's estimated that almost 90% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D.  Get your blood levels of vitamin D tested.  Your goal should be blood levels between 50-70 ng/ml, where hormonal balance and immune function seems to be maximized.  Sadly, most people typically clock in with levels in the 20's or 30's or lower, and these sub par levels can cause a lot of health problems.
Mid day sunshine is the most important source of vitamin D as your body produces vitamin D from a reaction with oils in your skin and UVB rays from the sun.  Fatty fish, egg yolks, and organ meats are the best sources of dietary vitamin D, but it is hard to get enough vitamin D from diet alone, so small doses of daily mid-day sun is also important for your health (without burning).
For lots more great info on vitamin D, and it's powerful benefits to your body, you can also read a really interesting article here on my blog that shows why vitamin D can even make you the equivalent of 5 years YOUNGER!

Food Rule #17.  Pay attention to your gut flora
Probiotics rock!  And most people have a harmful imbalance between good and bad bacteria in their guts.  This is made worse by things you consume that damange your gut flora such as chlorinated drinking water, artificial sweeteners, pesticides, and the worst of them all -- antibiotics.  One round of antiobiotics can permanently disrupt the balance of your gut flora and leave you susceptible to other infections and diseases.  Antibiotics have their place for life-threatening injuries and medical situations, but are overused in western medicine to the detriment of our health.
Along with vitamin D levels, probiotics are one of the single most important things you can do for your health.  Probiotics are equally important to your immune system as your vitamin D levels.  Probiotics are your first line of defense in keeping pathogens at bay and preventing sickness.  They're extremely important for your digestion too.
Your "microbiome" in your gut is made up of TRILLIONS of microbes in total and hundreds of types of these friendly probiotics.  These serve so many more vitally important functions in your body than most people realize, and imbalance of good to bad bacteria in your gut can cause over 170 diseases and conditions.
Food Rule #18.  Counteract or minimize carcinogens
Beware of carcinogenic acrylamides in browned carb-based foods.  This is yet another reason to minimize grains as much as possible as breads and cereals are some of the worst offenders with acrylamides.
Food Rule #19.  Why I avoid GM foods
Avoid the unknown health consequences of eating genetically modified foods.  Again, going back to the principle that we are most adapted to eating what our ancesters ate for almost 2 million years, that list of foods obviously did NOT include genetically modified foods, since these "frankenfoods" weren't included in the human food supply until the 1990's.
There are still no long term health studies proving that GM foods are safe to eat.
Food Rule #20.  Beware of "healthy whole wheat"
In a groundbreaking new best-selling book called Wheat Belly, Dr William Davis, a well respected cardiologist has intensely researched the effects of wheat-based foods (cereal, breads, pasta, baked goods, etc) and what this so-called "healthy whole wheat" actually does to your body from a biochemical standpoint internally.
His findings are not pleasant... some of the problems that whole wheat or any wheat foods can cause for your health are summarized in this article:
11 Ways that "whole wheat" can HARM your body (including abdominal fat, acne, joint problems and arthritis, IBS and acid reflux, cravings, addictive behaviors, increased overall calorie consumption, diabetes, heart disease, accelerated aging, and autoimmune diseases)

Food Rule #21.  Enjoy your food, eat slowly, savor each bite
Lastly, enjoy your food!  And enjoy good company with food.  Don't just mindlessly eat food in front of the TV.  Studies show that people unknowingly eat more calories and gain more weight when they mindlessly eat in front of the TV.  Instead, focus on your meal instead of a distraction...savor each bite you have.  Pay attention and enjoy the subtle flavors and aroma of each bite.  This makes you enjoy your food more, while eating less calories.
One last thing... Make sure to read this page below if you don't already have my Fat-Burning Kitchen book:
Does your kitchen contain fat-burning foods or 
hidden fat-storing foods?
Please share this "20 food rules" article with all of your friends and family!  They will thank you for helping them to think about food differently now and enjoy better health.

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The TRUTH about Bacon

You've been told that bacon is "unhealthy", but is it really?  Let's inspect the nutrition of bacon, and also the topic of nitrates and nitrites, HCAs, and more.  As you'll see, in some cases (not all), pork fat can even be considered healthy!
by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
& guest author, Nick Pineault, aka - "The Nutrition Nerd"

Most people think that their favorite "fatty" foods, like bacon, should only be an occasional treat because they've been told that it will it will "clog up" your arteries and kill you because of the saturated fat.
But as you know from reading this newsletter, the scientific community has pretty much fully agreed in recent years that saturated fat is actually not bad for you at all... and is really just a natural part of the human diet just like it has been since the origins of us homo sapiens.
In reality, scientists have begun to collectively agree in recent years that highly processed polyunsaturated fats from vegetable oils like corn and soy are the REAL killers (along with too much sugar and starch, both of which also cause arterial stress if blood sugar levels are too high, too frequently).
However, what most people don't realize is that pork fat (aka, lard) is actually only 40% saturated, 48% monosaturated, and 12% polyunsaturated (varies based on what the pigs ate), while coconut oil is 92% saturated fat, and we all know that coconut oil is super healthy for DOZENS of reasons for our bodies!
This isn't to say that bacon fat is always bad or good per se... it really all depends on what the pigs were fed and how they were raised.  Confinement factory-raised pigs that never saw the light of day and ate nothing but GMO soy and corn based feed will have a more unhealthy fat profile than free-range pork that grazed outdoors, got a lot of sunshine (which increases the vitamin D content of the pork fat), and ate a wide variety of natural foods.
In fact, free-range (or pasture-raised) pork fat can even be a really good source of vitamin D if the pigs really did see a good amount of outdoors time and sunshine...and we all know how vitally important vitamin D is for our immune systems and overall hormonal balance.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of pork and bacon sold these days is from confinement factory conditions where the pigs get very little sunshine, if any at all.  Yes, our grandparents and great-grandparents in the early to mid 1900's were eating pretty much 100% pasture-raised bacon back in the day, but the factory farm industry in recent decades has ruined a good portion of the quality of our foods.
So make sure to look for pasture-raised or free-range pork if you decide to eat bacon or other forms of pork.  At the very least, look for organic bacon if you can't find pasture-raised, because at least you know they didn't eat GMO feed in that case.

But what about Nitrates and Nitrites?
Aside from the fat content of bacon, which we just discussed can actually be healthy if you choose the right form of bacon, the biggest reason people think they need to avoid bacon is that they've been told that Nitrites and Nitrates can be really bad for you.
But is that really the truth?
Well, it can be a complicated subject, so I’ll let my fellow colleague, "The Nutrition Nerd", Nicky P. simplify it for you...

Are Nitrates and Nitrites Really Dangerous?
(Do we really need to fear bacon?)

by: Nick Pineault
Author and Food Investigator: Truth About Fat Burning Foods

First of all, nitrites and nitrates are not exactly the same, but I’ll use them interchangeably for simplicity’s sake in this article.
Well, the consumers fear it so much that companies have started selling "nitrite-free" products in grocery stores. After all, even the Mayo Clinic says that sodium nitrite could possibly increase your risks of heart disease. (1)
But is the fear of nitrites overblown?
Should You Fear Your Saliva?
Avoiding all sources of nitrites and nitrates would involve you having the driest mouth in the history of mankind. You see, as Chris Kresser puts it…(2)
"[...] nitrites are produced by your own body in greater amounts than can be obtained from food, and salivary nitrite accounts for 70-90% of our total nitrite exposure. In other words, your spit contains far more nitrites than anything you could ever eat.”
And when it comes to food, I’ve got "bad" news for you.
Veggies contain way more naturally-occurring nitrites than processed meats like bacon.  In fact, one serving of arugula contains more nitrites than 467 hot dogs…(3)
(Sorry if that made you spit out your arugula, goat cheese and walnut-salad in shock.)
"Nitrite-free" Is Misleading
If you’re paying more for "nitrite-free" meats, you’re getting mislead.
Instead of being cured with sodium nitrite, these meats are cured with celery salt. And guess what?  Celery salt gets transformed into nitrites during the curing process. (4)
In plain English… the "nitrite-free" meats probably contain way more nitrites that the regular version. (Not that it matters, because like I said nitrites are not very dangerous to begin with.)
All in all, I don't think there's much difference to your health whether you get the bacon containing nitrites vs the celery salt bacon since they both yield nitrites to your body.
Breaking News: Nitrites And Nitrates Are NOT A Threat
The fear of nitrites and nitrates is overblown.  There are a ton of other things you should worry about more when it comes to food, like GMOs, trans fats, and high fructose corn syrup.
- On the science side, there’s a ton of research showing that nitrites and nitrates do not accumulate inside the body, and are quickly flushed in the urine: (5)
- 25% of the nitrates we consume is converted into salivary nitrite, 20% converted into nitrite, and the rest is excreted in the urine within 5 hours of ingestion. (6)
- Any nitrate that is absorbed has a very short half-life, disappearing from our blood in under five minutes. (7)
- Some nitrite in our stomach reacts with gastric contents, forming nitric oxide which may have many beneficial effects. (8)
What About Nitrosamines?
The fear of nitrites and nitrates comes from the fact that some of them can transform into nitrosamines while cooking. Nitrosamines are potentially carcinogenic, so that’s definitely a legit concern. But that’s exactly why manufacturers use vitamin C (ascorbic acid) when curing their meats.
It turns out that vitamin C or even vitamin E (9) offers a protective antioxidant effect on the meat, and prevents the formation of nitrosamines.
On top of that, my recommendation of sticking to pasture-raised pork as much as possible still stands, for many reasons... One of them being the fact that grain-fed, commercially-raised pork has been shown to create way more nitrosamines when cooked than its pasture-raised cousin. (10)
The reason is simple in my mind: lard from pasture-raised animals that eat a highly variable diet outdoors contains a healthier fat profile than the fat from grain-fed confinement animals.
Conclusion
Here’s the simple conclusion... There are a ton of things you should worry about when it comes to food, but nitrates/nitrites are simply NOT one of them.
That being said, try to eat traditionally cured, pastured-raised meats from local farms as much as possible. They are much healthier, and a LOT safer.
The "Nitrate Myth" is just one of the many reasons I investigated over 503 studies and created my best-selling nutrition bible:
The Truth About Fat Burning Foods
I want you to know the REAL truth about the food you buy and eat.
Enjoy your bacon,
-Nick Pineault
___________

Mike's additional comments:
Before I introduced Nick's article on whether nitrites and nitrates are worth worrying about in bacon, I discussed the fat profiles of healthier pasture-raised or free-range pork vs factory raised, and also that the vitamin D content of pasture-raised pork be as much as 5-10x higher than factory raised pork that never gets any sunshine.
I also discussed that saturated fat has been proven in recent years to not really be bad for us at all, and in fact, most forms of saturated fat are either neutral for our health, or even beneficial to our health.  And besides that, bacon fat is mostly monounsaturated fat (48%), which is the same heart-healthy fat that's raved about in olive oil, avocados, etc.
But what about Carcinogens in browned meat like bacon?
You've probably seen me discuss the fact that when you fry or bake any starchy foods such as grains (bread, cereal, etc), or potatoes in the form of french fries, that a carcinogen called acrylamides forms.  This is a legitimate concern regarding cancer and one of the many reasons I choose to avoid breads, fries, cereals, and other browned starchy foods (aside from cheat meals) ...
But there's also a carcinogen called heterocyclic amines (HCA's) that forms on the outer surface of meats when you brown or char meats.  I've talked about how to counteract these carcinogenic HCAs in meat in this article.
Since bacon is a meat that's fried in a pan at high heat, there will be small amounts of carcinogenic HCA's, but as I've mentioned before, if you're also having some high antioxidant tea or coffee with your meal, along with some veggies and/or avocado, you'll have plenty of antioxidants to counteract the HCA's in your body.  I don't know about you, but I almost always eat my bacon with eggs, veggies, avocado, and some form tea or coffee (all of which are great sources of antioxidants), so HCA's just simply aren't much of a concern if you're counteracting them with a few sources of powerful antioxidants.
One last thing about pork fat that helps fight against any carcinogens in bacon...

According to Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN, "Pork fat also contains a novel form of phosphatidylcholine that possesses antioxidant activity superior to Vitamin E. This may be one reason why lard and bacon fat are relatively stable and not prone to rancidity from free radicals."  This is yet another reason why our grandparents were actually smarter than we give them credit for... they used bacon fat or butter to cook with most times, instead of today's inflammatory vegetable oils.
Fun Fact about Pig Diets:  Did you know that some of the most expensive pork in the world comes from a region of Spain where the pigs FEAST on almost nothing but acorns.  These pigs produce meat that is MUCH healthier than the corn/soy fed pigs from typical factory farms.  Not only that, but apparently the absolute BEST whole-hog barbeque in the southern US traditionally came from pigs that fed on acorns as well, and this type of pork has a signficantly superior taste compared to factory farm pork, which is sadly 90% of today's pork.  It's too bad that corporate profits are the top priority of the pork industry these days, and not the health of the pigs or the nutrition of the meat.
Who else wants to try some acorn-fed bacon? I'm in!
I hope you enjoyed today's article.  Please pass it on to your bacon-loving friends and family at the sharing options below.

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