Courtesy Jeremy Noble.

That’s right!  BACON is the key to longevity says 105-year old Texan Pearl Cantrell.  Pearl just might be on to something.

A University of Zurich study found that although eating processed meat raises risks for cancer and heart disease, red meat has its benefits (as if I needed any cajoling to eat read meat, especially bacon!)

Sure, there are certainly drawbacks to eating an excess of processed meat.  However, it appears the adverse effects of processed meat are not entirely about the meat, but also about the lifestyle choices of those who consume diets with higher amounts of processed meat — namely eating little produce, smoking, and drinking.  In fact, the authors of the study state,  “Eating little or no red meat, like beef and pork, was actually associated with higher all-cause mortality than very moderate consumption, presumably because red meat does contain important vitamins and nutrients (protein, iron, zinc, vitamins A and B, essential fatty acids).”

Perhaps our omnivorous ancestors with carnivorous canines weren’t leading us entirely astray when they transmitted their bacon-loving gene to us 😉