Have you seen this?
It’s the World Health Organizations latest news flash about cancer and its relationship with eating meat, processed meats, specifically.
So it got me thinking. Do you know what processed meats are, specifically? If you don’t, let me make you a list. If you do, skip this list.
Processed meats are things like hot dogs, brats, sausages, bacon.
Yes, friends, bacon has been forsaken by the WHO.
Now, while I know some of you are obsessed with bacon (I’ve seen your posts. I’ve read your t-shirts. I’m looking at you, Ted Mottaz…that’s my dad), I would like to remind you about good things.
Good things are sometimes not that good for you, in large doses.
Have you seen things like this:
Okay, this is not just having bacon with your eggs now and again. This is ridiculous.
There’s a reason Homer Simpson has been portrayed as a glutton. It’s pictures like this pizza.
However, I am not a huge fan of the processed meats. I enjoy a good wiener roast, but mainly because of the weather and the scarf I’m wearing and a s’more, not the hot dog. Foods like hot dogs make my stomach turn into knots, and while I do enjoy bacon occasionally, it too makes me feel a little, well, greasy and gross, so I try to exercise moderation.
But friends, and those of you who are experts, here’s a newsflash: WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE SOME DAY.
Yes, I would love my life to be of good quality, and yes, I believe that eating a pound of bacon is probably bad for you, and yes these meats may be linked to cancer.
But do you know what else is linked to cancer at about the same rate:
THE SUN.
PLASTICS.
YOUR MICROWAVE.
And guess what I did just the other day? Ran in the sun, wearing my plastic sunglasses, only to come home and later that evening enjoy a bag of microwave popcorn.
I guess I’ll be dead by tomorrow.
Seriously, friends, cancer sucks. Believe me, I know. Our family lost Joe’s mom nearly two years ago, and it hurts still every day.
Do I believe that bacon or sausage or hot dogs or plastics or the sun had anything to do with her cancer? Maybe a little.
Do I wish that she could have lived to see the twins, celebrated not just her 60th birthday, but her 70th, 80th, and 90th birthdays? Yes, yes, and OH YES.
However, I am taking a page from her book. She wasn’t ready to leave this earth, but she knew that one day we all would depart.
The end.
She was at peace with that, and that had nothing to do with bacon, and everything to do with finding peace and having an understanding of eternity in a bigger sense.
I never claim to be an expert. I am not a scientist, but I will leave you today with a few nuggets of my “expertise,” and the rest, sweet friends who love the internet and its spoils, you’re going to have to make some judgements yourself.
- We’re all going to die some day, so live with that in the back of your mind, not the front. Exercise more, eat less, but enjoy all of it, bacon and hot dogs and ribeyes and running and fruit and water included. Have a lovely meal, but don’t be shocked if you feel bad or are unhealthy, should you choose to eat crappy every single day. This is not rocket science. This is common sense.
- Too much of a good thing is never a good thing. Yes, another common sense aspect. So yes, World Health Organization, I get it. Processed meats are bad. They’re full of salt and junk that is not that great for you. But, instead of freaking everyone out, please don’t use words like WILL CAUSE CANCER, instead, remind folks to be moderate. Enjoy a hot dog, but not every day, every meal. To that, I end this with the oh so effective, yet oh so uneducated word, “DUH.”
- Stop with the bacon. The Baconater. The Bacon 5K Runs. The hot dog eating contests. Stop. Can we all quit being so danged obsessive, and then shocked that something we overuse or overeat may cause our bodies harm? This goes for the uber-healthy, too. Knock off the obsession over crazy new diet fads that some person thought of to peddle on Facebook. I’m done.
In closing, yes, this probably is not good PR for my Team Beef. However, I’m not worried about it. Pretty soon they’ll move on to dairy or broccoli or something else new.
That’s because we’re human. We’re fickle, and we’re all going to take a long dirt nap some day.