They’re the 3 words that make vegans cringe, and have spawned countless memes. Meat eaters over the world consider themselves beyond clever when posting them under plant-based posts, almost as some sort of misguided battle cry, and every time they’re uttered you can almost hear the eye rolls of every plant-based or vegan person reading them: “But bacon though!”
The words are meant to inform those of us who follow a plant-based - or vegan - diet exactly what we’re supposedly missing out on. But trust us when we say that we’re not missing out on anything. We’re happily enjoying cruelty-free alternatives that are packed with flavour, nutrients, and sometimes protein.
What Is Vegan Bacon?
So, what exactly is vegan bacon, you ask? Well, for starters, it’s a lot of things because there are a lot of different versions of vegan bacon out there, each with its own benefits, flavour and even texture. Vegan bacon can be made out of soy, gluten, shaved eggplant, shaved carrot, and believe it or not: banana peel.
There are so many recipes out there, and even more bacon-like products that can be found right here at PlantX. All have a few things in common: they taste a great deal like traditional bacon, have a satisfying texture, go great with breakfast and other meals, and have 0 cholesterol. This brings us to our next point.
Why Is Traditional Bacon Unhealthy?
To understand why traditional bacon is considered unhealthy, you could simply look at the obscene amount of grease leftover after cooking traditional bacon and ask yourself if it’s healthy to be consuming that much fat.
The answer? No, it’s not. Especially not this fat.
About 40% of the fat in bacon is saturated fat, accompanied by a decent amount of cholesterol.
This fat can clog your arteries and cause a bunch of other health issues. You could also do some research that’s easily available as to why bacon and other meats are actually classified as Class 1 carcinogens, meaning that they’re known to cause cancer.
Plus, traditional bacon is definitely not healthy for the poor pig that it used to belong to, but we don’t even need to get into that here because that’s not the point of this post!
Plain and simple, while it tastes good, that’s quite literally the only thing ‘good’ about traditional bacon. But is the taste worth it?
When you take into account the fact that it’s a Class 1 carcinogen (which, by the way, is the same class as cigarettes), is loaded with salt, grease and fat, and there is an abundance of healthier, tasty alternatives, the only question that remains is why would you even want to eat it?
Is Vegan Bacon Healthier?
Let’s forget about the bad stuff about traditional bacon for a minute and pivot towards Vegan Bacon and why it’s healthier and better for you than its animal-based counterpart.
Vegan Bacon Has 0 Cholesterol
Let’s start with the big one: Vegan Bacon has 0 cholesterol. None, zilch, nada. As we all know by now, too much cholesterol can be terrible for us. While our body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells, high levels of cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease, which increases your risk of premature death.
High cholesterol can make you develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels, and eventually, these deposits grow, making it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries.
Vegan Bacon Is High In Beneficial Nutrients
Vegan Bacon is high in fibre and can be high in protein too. If your vegan bacon is made from soy or gluten, then it’s going to be high in protein.
As we know, we need to consume the 9 essential amino acids (that’s what we’re talking about when we discuss protein) that our bodies don’t create on their own, and getting a nice injection of them at breakfast is always a great way to start the day!
If, on the other hand, your vegan bacon is made from carrots, eggplant, or another veggie source, then it’s going to have a good deal of fibre in it, which is essential for gut health and so much more!
Vegan Bacon Is Low In Fat And Salt
Another benefit of Vegan Bacon is that it’s low in fat and salt. On their own, fat and salt aren’t inherently bad for you, but in large amounts, they can cause health issues. Too much salt can cause high blood pressure. And too much fat? Well, we all know what happens when we eat too much fat.
Vegan Bacon Is Better For The Environment
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, we can’t discuss animal protein without discussing the impact that factory farming and meat production have on the environment. With elevated levels of CO2 being released into the atmosphere from the production, distribution, and cultivation of animal proteins, switching to vegan bacon helps lower our carbon footprint. This in turn helps the environment, which most definitely needs as much help as we can give it right now.
Why Make The Switch To Vegan Bacon?
So, now that we know the differences between Vegan Bacon and traditional bacon, for most, it would seem obvious why we should make the switch, but let’s expand on it a bit, shall we?
In this day and age where we have endless options and meat alternatives at our fingertips, we certainly owe it to ourselves to shop for these delicious alternatives. We’ll end up consuming less fat, cholesterol, nitrates, and carcinogens.
Switching to vegan bacon creates far less environmental pollution as well.
In short, making the switch from traditional bacon to vegan bacon is healthier for you and for the planet. Head over to PlantX to check out the best vegan bacon you can find!
