Kaiden Fox wrote:
>
> >Why can't bacon be cured?  The butcher I go to said their bacon is smoked,
> >period, no additives.  Does that make it okay?
>
> The big thing about bacon is the salt.  Nitrates + Nutrasweet will burn
> holes your brain.  But, nitrates alone aren't that bad.  True, they are a
> carcinogen, but they are harmless compared to something really leathal, like
> corn.

They might be harmless period, if eaten in very moderated quantities. My
impression is that the evidence against moderate consumption of smoked foods
is not exactly damning.

About curing not being paleo: I gather that the sugar (present in many
packaged meat products like cured bacon) is also a concern.

If your butcher means that the meat is actually smoked (like, from a fire),
I think you could make a case that this should be considered paleo. The
bigger objection is to meat that is given a smoked flavour by exposure
to lots of chemicals.