Bacon

Food · Protein · Food, Typed Supps

Processed meat: the salt and the curing agents are the issue, not the fat.

Stage by stage

Digestion (Gastric proteolysis): Protein is broken down conventionally; bacon supplies about 20 g per 100 g.
Absorption (Small intestine): Amino acids, heme iron, selenium, thiamin and B12 are absorbed as from any meat.
Sodium load (Extracellular fluid): Roughly 1,500 mg sodium per 100 g makes this a leading discretionary sodium source.
Colonic exposure (Large intestine): N-nitroso compounds from curing nitrite reach the colon, the mechanistic basis for the colorectal association.

Timing

No meaningful timing effect. What matters is how often — IARC’s risk estimate is framed per 50 g eaten daily.

Time to effect

Immediate: The sodium load acts the same day.
Years: Colorectal risk accrues with habitual intake over years, not with occasional meals.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

80 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — low. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Environmental footprint

12.3 kg CO2e and 1796 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Pig meat" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £9 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Protein
Sodium
Selenium
Thiamin

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 418
Protein: 20.6g
Carbohydrate: 0.3g
of which sugars: 0.3g
Fat: 37.6g
of which saturated: 14.6g
Sodium: 1528mg

Food vs. supplement

The nutrition is real — protein, selenium, thiamin, B12. The Group 1 classification is about curing and processing, not about pork or saturated fat, which is why unprocessed red meat sits in a different IARC category.

Kitchen tip

Cook to just-done rather than heavily charred: nitrosamine and heterocyclic amine formation both rise with temperature and time.

Common myth

“Bacon is as carcinogenic as smoking — they are both Group 1.” In reality: Group 1 states that the evidence is conclusive, not that the risk is equal. Processed meat is associated with roughly an 18% relative increase in colorectal cancer per 50 g daily; smoking multiplies lung cancer risk many times over. Same confidence in the finding, vastly different magnitude.