The American Meat Institute (AMI) has released a YouTube Video which seeks to counter some of the recent press about health risks from eating processed meats.   I admit I am a big fan of bacon.  In fact, I have read in several places that bacon is the single most frequent food that lures people out of vegetarianism.

Even though this comes from an industry group, (so obviously there is an agenda) there are some good facts in here.  For example, only 5% of the nitrate in our diet comes from processed meats–far more comes from green leafy vegetables and other plant sources.   Although I’d fall short of calling lunch meat a health food, the video points out that lunch meats can be low-fat and/or low sodium.  They also correctly say that many of the sensational press articles about “processed meat” have confused pickled and very high-salt meat-based diets (such as in parts of Asia) with the typical lunch-meat in the US.

I’m a huge advocate for simple, less processed foods.  But, the take-home message is that you don’t have to feel guilty for eating an occasional hot-dog or giving your children lunch meat on some days.  In moderation, lunch meat or nitrate-cured bacon is not something to lose sleep over.