(Updated 11-10-2025)
“Bacon, bacon, bacon!” cries the dog in the Purina Beggin Strips commercial. “Smokey bacon, crispy bacon, tasty bacon – gotta have that bacon!” Apparently dogs aren’t the only ones who are still beggin for more bacon.
Bacon Mania
Americans on average eat more than 18 pounds of bacon each year, spending nearly $6 billion dollars to do so. Over 80% of Americans households surveyed report that bacon is a part of the diets. According to Wikipedia, the term “Bacon mania” refers to “passionate bacon enthusiasm in the United States and Canada.
Novelty bacon dishes and other bacon related items have been popularized rapidly via the internet. The movement has been traced to the 1980s and 1990s when high-protein foods became a more prominent diet focus due in part to the Atkins diet.
Bacon commercials are partly responsible for the fact that bacon is the highest ‘topping’ requested for fast food burgers. One popular pizza chain has devised a bacon wrapped crust that contains 3.5 feet of bacon, and bacon has become the main attraction of many other types of fast food offerings.
In addition to burgers and pizzas, bacon can now be found cooked or baked into just about anything, including donuts, muffins, cupcakes, butter, peanut butter sandwiches, chocolate bars, mayonnaise, booze, ice cream and milkshakes (yes, you heard that correctly). There’s even a bacon bowl (a container made of hot bacon in which you can put your cereal, soup, rice or pasta).
Bacon Addiction
Bacon can be addictive because it contains several ingredients that humans typically crave: Fat, salt, and sugar. Bacon itself is two-thirds fat and loaded with salt, and when combined with a sweetener such as maple syrup, can create a party in one’s brain.
In his book “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” (Random House, 2013), author Michael Moss explored this issue in-depth, citing examples of how food manufacturers exploit this craving when developing processed foods such as bacon-flavored products.
By the way, notice all that white marbling throughout bacon? That’s saturated fat. The bad fats the contribute to plaque build up in the arteries and lead to a myriad of health problems (heart, kidneys, brain, peripheral artery disease, fatty liver, diabetes, etc).
That’s why there are so many consequences to pigging out on bacon.
Harmful to Health
Not only is bacon is high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, processed meats such as bacon contain carcinogenic compounds called nitrates and nitrites which increase the risk for various types of cancer.
According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, just 1.7 ounces of processed meats consumed daily—less than two strips of bacon—can increase a person’s risk for colorectal cancer by 21 percent. Another study shows that just one strip of bacon (or small amounts of any processed meats) raise the risk of colon cancer. No amount of processed meat is considered safe for consumption.
In 2025, the American Cancer Society estimates about 154,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal or rectal cancer and approximately 53,000 will die of it. Colon cancer ranks as the 2nd most common cause of cancer-related deaths, and rates are increasing for people under 50 years of age.
Many additional studies also show a strong link between other cancers and processed meats. An NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study found that processed red meat was associated with a 10 percent increased risk of prostate cancer with every 10 grams of increased intake.
A study in Taiwan showed that consumption of cured and smoked meat can increase children’s risk for leukemia. A study in Australia found that women’s risk for ovarian cancer increased as a result of eating processed meats. And a review in the journal Diabetologia found that those who regularly eat processed meats increase their risk for diabetes by 41 percent. This is due to the high fat content, which coats the cells and no longer allows insulin to work effectively.
Alternatives
These days, we can still enjoy our BLT sandwiches with plant-based ‘bacon’ made a variety of ways! Check out these recipes:
https://shaneandsimple.com/smoky-maple-tempeh-bacon/
https://shaneandsimple.com/tofu-bacon-best-vegan-bacon-recipe/
https://eatplant-based.com/smoked-tempeh-for-breakfast/
https://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/smoky-maple-tofu-bacon
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/quick-easy-vegan-bacon-tofu/
Bottom line
Bacon is risky business. Sadly, there was even a bacon-themed coffin on the market years ago – advertised “for people who love their bacon to death”. Please don’t be one of them.
Please contact me if you’d like help with your diet, or watch my free webinar and schedule a free, no-strings call.
I’m at your service (www.cydnotter.com).
(References: PCRM.org; USAToday.com)