Is Turkey Bacon Healthier Than Pork Bacon?

If you watch the news or listen to any health professional, you have undoubtably heard that eating turkey is better for you than pork or beef since it has a lower calorie and fat count. However, this is not always the case. Here we will compare Oscar Mayar turkey bacon to it’s Oscar Mayar pork counterpart.

Okay for this comparison, let’s lay down some ground rules. First of, all information comes from the nutritional panel on the back of the packaging. Second of all, the turkey bacon serving size is one (1) slice of bacon, while the pork bacon’s is two (2) slices. For this comparison, we will double the turkey bacon’s serving size to two (2) slices so we get an equal amount on each side. I could have just as easily halved the pork serving size to one and got the same results, however doubling is just easier. Plus, who can only eat one slice of turkey bacon when they are use to two slices of the pork?

Nutritional information:

1) Oscar Mayar Turkey Bacon: 2 slices

Calories. 70

Calories from fat. 50

Fat. 6g

Saturated Fat. 2g

Cholesterol 30mg

Sodium. 360mg

Protein. 4g

2) Oscar Mayar Pork Bacon: 2 slices

Calories. 70

Calories from fat. 50

Fat. 6g

Saturated fat. 2g

Cholesterol. 15mg

Sodium. 290mg

Protein. 4g

The packaging on the turkey bacon touted that this product has 50% less fat than their pork bacon, however, their nutritional panel tells a different story. The amount of calories, calories from fat, fat, saturated fat, and protein are the exact same as shown above. In fact, the turkey bacon is worse for you since it has double the cholesterol and 70mg more sodium than their pork counterpart.

Now, i’n not saying that you shouldn’t eat turkey products instead beef or pork. There is no doubt that ground turkey is a far better option than ground beef. However, I am just questioning whether it is worth the extra price to eat Oscar Mayar’s Turkey Bacon over their pork bacon, and, in my opinion, it is not worth the extra price for the turkey version.

This is just my opinion in this, but I’ll let you be the judge. I would rather pay less money for pork bacon than pay more for turkey and get more sodium and cholesterol in my diet.


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