Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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When I started eating bacon, two months ago, I went through about 18oz per week for 3 weeks.

Pan fried, low heat.
Coconut oil

One week into this feast, I noticed how much smoother, oily, and vibrant my skin was -- my hands especially, and my face, and all over I suppose. Before, my hands had been dry, even a little flaky.

Why? Must be correcting a deficiency, but I don't know what it is...

Simultaneously, I had began taking 1tsp/day of high-vitamin butter oil ("green pastures"), and so I assumed that was the source of this magical improvement. But I stopped eating bacon, and kept up with the butter oil, and my hands and face fell back into their old ways.

Starting back on bacon this week, within just 5 days, BOOM. Brilliant skin again... Amazing.

Is it a certain fat, a vitamin, I don't know...

I always pan-fry bacon on low heat, in a tbsp of high-quality coconut oil. I never use anything but coconut oil for frying, so I think it's not my slight increase in coconut oil consumption causing this improvement.

... Follow Up: Saturated Fat content seems to be the benefit.
I'll verify this by reducing/eliminating bacon consumption while increasing other sources of saturated fat: Coconut oil, Avocado, Butter, Beef... Though, in my experience two tbsp of Kerry Gold butter per day isn't enough to replicate this bacon magic.

edited Oct 14 2011 at 0:11

asked Oct 13 2011 at 3:18

Sean
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CAFO pig or free range? (There's a big difference in the fatty acid profile). – Rhubarb Oct 13 2011 at 7:11

Oh that'd be great. I was avoiding bacon because of omega 6 (I never ate it actually, I ought to try it one time). – Korion Oct 13 2011 at 7:30

It's Pederson's brand. Uncured. Not pastured, as far as I know. I can't find pastured bacon. – Sean Oct 13 2011 at 22:32

if this is true, lots of women would gorge on bacon. The thought alone is very amusing. – Paul Oct 14 2011 at 13:58

Women in Japan and Korea love fatty pork because of the collagen in it. Hotpots and soups with pork belly are marketed towards women and it's thought of as a health food. Seriously. – sophie Dec 29 2011 at 5:27

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maurile · Answer 1 · 2011-10-13 16:25:42Z UTC

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Pork fat is famously good for your skin, which is why it's in a lot of cosmetics. It's the saturated and monounsaturated fats, vitamin D (if pastured), and selenium.

answered Oct 13 2011 at 16:25

maurile
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Jan · Answer 2 · 2011-10-13 06:39:36Z UTC

I noticed this improvement as well, but i dont eat bacon, i think its more to do with high fat diet and coconut oil than anytthing else. Good stuff. I use it about 1tbs per day in cooking and it improved my skin a lot. Its now very smooth and silky.

Primal Toad · Answer 3 · 2011-10-13 07:42:57Z UTC

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What food is bacon replacing? It may not be that you are eating bacon per say, but rather the fact that you are not eating cereal or other foods. Or, it could be that your stress has significantly declined.

There is a HUGE link to dairy and acne. Did you drop dairy? Maybe its the fact that you are getting a lot more sunlight...

lots of possibilities.

answered Oct 13 2011 at 7:42

Primal Toad
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	Yes -- what did you eat when you stopped eating bacon? – January Oct 13 2011 at 8:26
	When I eat bacon it's only a small amount, maybe 3 or 4 whole 10" (length before cooking) strips... So it's hard to say I completely replaced anything with it. Good point though. For milk, I've been off all milk for years, and in the past few months been on and off of Raw Goat Milk for 4 weeks at a time, with no conspicuous benefits or detriments. – Sean Oct 13 2011 at 22:36
	Anything else that you have changed in your lifestyle in the past 2 months? Just trying to find out if it is bacon or not... it's possible! – Primal Toad Oct 14 2011 at 7:19
	No other changes. Seems to be a very high correlation between bacon consumption and my skin improvement. I'll experiment further, and update this post, if I remember. – Sean Oct 14 2011 at 21:07

Bill · Answer 4 · 2011-10-13 19:06:07Z UTC

I notice this too with pork in general as well as avocados. Fish oil makes me oiler but something about pork and avocado just really makes it moist and more youthful (although I am 22 so I havent really aged yet but have done some damage to the skin previously with benzyl peroxide + sunburns).

I think it is the n6 fats but we all know these are not good in excess... GLA is an n6 fat famous for improving the skin but as far as I am aware, pork nor avocado contains GLA.

I started noticing this because everytime I got a carnitas salad bowl at chipotle with gauc my skin would look really nice the day after. Then I tested both pork and avocado seperately and they seem to both have the effect on their own.

Avocados also have potassium, which hydrates.

coprophagous · Answer 5 · 2011-12-29 04:37:26Z UTC

when i crave a bacon feast, and i really do some times, i soak my bacon in water to reduce the salt content. as an added bonus i think another added salt of sodium nitrate is also extracted. this is really easy to do and allows you to eat more bacon without that salt. when im limiting it to one or two strips i dont bother and go full flavor salty goodness. latter that day i use the pig fat to cook a few pork chops in and eat them cold the next day. Finally i pour the fat over my kitchen slop bowl and feed it to my dads chickens. then, i eat the fat in the form of eggs.

Bacon - Why is it improving my skin?

5 Answers