Looked at some bacon to see what was actually in it. In addition to just two
slices providing the amount of sodium a person needs for the entire day, I
found:

Premium Quality Private Selection Center Cut Bacon (From Krogers, I believe)

Ingredients: Cured with water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphate, sodium
erythorbate, sodium nitrite.

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From the book, Food Additives, A Shopper's Guide To What's Safe & What's
Not, by Christine Hoza Farlow, D.C.:

sodium phosphate (a.k.a. Sodium acid pyrophosphate): can inhibit mineral
absorption; may cause blood pressure, kidney disturbances, water retention.

sodium erythorbate: may be corn based, see sodium acetate: sodium acetate:
may cause blood pressure, kidney disturbances, water retention.

sodium nitrite: see nitrites: Nitrites: May cause headaches, nausea,
vomiting, dizziness; see nitrates:

nitrates: form powerful cancer-causing agents in the stomach; can cause
death; considered dangerous by the FDA but not banned because they prevent
botulism.

(my note: sugar = not paleo. corn based = not paleo)


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See also:

In addition to the occurrence of headache, nitrites can cause . . . low
oxygen in the blood . . .

http://www.nutrition4health.org/NOHAnews/NNS02DietMigraineHeadaches.htm

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Fruits, milk, bread, and water are relatively small sources of the nitrate
intake, in normal circumstances. Nitrites are formed by the reduction of
nitrates in the saliva or by bacterial action in the intestine. The
vasodilator effect of nitrites is responsible for the hot dog headache and
flushing of the face and neck commonly associated.

The addition of nitrite to meats has three purposes:

1) Antibacterial effect, particularly the inhibition of botulism spores and
toxin formation;

2) Formation of pigments responsible for the red or pink color of cured
meats; without nitrites, meat would have an unacceptable gray color;

3) Food additive responsible for the safety and stability of cured meats.
The level of nitrite permitted in cured meat products is 200 ppm.

In addition to the occurrence of headache, nitrites can cause
methemaglobinemia (low oxygen in the blood), which imparts a slate gray
cyanotic color to the skin; and they may act on amines in the diet to form
nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. High levels of nitrate in the well
waters of regions of Columbia and in two village communities in rural
England, where the incidence of stomach cancer was abnormally high, have
been linked to the use of sodium nitrate fertilizer.


Jay Banks

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Success is the journey...
not the destination