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Bacon – What’s Not to Like?

15 September 2016

By Joseph

Bacon.

The most sumptuous five letters known to man.

Smoked, unsmoked, streaky, crispy, tender or back, bacon has a universal appeal and infinite serving options to go with it.

At my school, us acne-ridden, mood-swinging year 11s are given two glorious opportunities for a nice hearty breakfast – one before school (open to all students) served out of a shed (although they prefer to call it a ‘pod’), and another (only the older kids) in the dining hall at half past ten.

I am yet to take both opportunities on the same day, though. I’m not that greedy.

So I make a point of wolfing down a bacon sandwich (and on rare occasions, a sausage one) at least twice a week, and on my off days I head up for something a bit lighter – toast or a bagel perhaps.

Whilst the Daily Mail likes to give bacon a bad name by crying out “Bacon gives you cancer” every couple of months or so when it runs out of stories, the idea that a bacon bap sets you up for the day ahead can’t be ignored. After having a bacon sandwich before lessons, I find myself feeling more alert and concentrated when learning, with less of my attention being focused on the inadequacies that come from stuffing half a slice of toast and a banana in your pocket and calling it breakfast in a desperate race to get out the house on a morning. I feel fuller, more motivated and I feel better.

In reality, bacon is not the healthiest food there is, being coated in copious amounts of salt and a fair bit of fat, however, half of these fats are monounsaturated and oleic acid – which is found in olive oil and is praised for being heart-healthy. Furthermore, only 10% of fat in bacon is actually bad for you: it is omega-6 and is only a problem because people eat too much of it anyway.

So, bacon – what’s not to like?

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