Snack sticks are probably our best selling item, but cured meat snacks are one of those things that a lot of folks try to avoid or at least minimize in their diet.
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Personally, I have noticed that consuming nitrates seems to sap my energy.
Over the past few years I have heard that nitrates are bad from various sources, but I have been hesitant to give up some of my absolute favorite foods.
Ugh! life without bacon just seems bleak to me.
I guessed it must take more energy to metabolize nitrates or something... so I looked into some studies to figure out why this might be, and what I could do about it (with my fingers crossed that bacon could still be in the picture!).
Here is what I found:
Nitrates themselves aren't particularly harmful, but when we digest them in our stomach acid, they tend to form nitrites which are indeed harmful and linked to cancer and other adverse effects.
One well-known and wide-spread occurrence of these negative effects is when ground water becomes contaminated by nitrogen fertilizers (made with Sodium Nitrate, the compound commonly used in cured meat products). Many people are familiar with "blue baby syndrome" also called methemoglobinemia, "but a range of other health effects have been associated with ingesting nitrate-contaminated drinking water, including various cancers, adverse reproductive outcomes, diabetes, and thyroid conditions." You can read more about extreme Nitrate contamination in water and its effects, here.
The consensus seems to be that excessive exposure to nitrates is linked to cancer in lab-rats and in humans. These effects have been observed in isolated studies and in agricultural areas where nitrate-based fertilizers are heavily-used, but an interesting twist to the nitrates narrative I found, is that consuming foods containing naturally-occurring nitrates is actually linked to reduced risk of adverse effects, and has also been proven to help protect against cardiovascular disease.
One study showed that consuming vegetables high in both nitrates and vitamin C counteracts the production of N-nitrosamines (one of the common harmful nitrites produced in the digestion process of nitrates), so the risk is minimized.
This short search encouraged me to find ways to reduce my concentrated-nitrate consumption, and to look for alternatives to those preservatives, but to not worry so much about consuming vegetables that contain nitrates.
Not surprisingly, I have had several customers request nitrate-free options for bacon, ham, and cured meat snacks, but for the past several years, I could not find a butcher that would do this for us within 100 miles of Laramie.
Finally one of our butchers here in Laramie listened to us- how cool!
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Here are the ingredients of our newest batch of snack sticks
(Peter can't get enough of these, and he makes it hard to even take a picture of the package!):
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No artificial colors! And the curing-agents are celery juice, and cherry powder! Woohoo!!!
Not only are they all-natural, and nitrate-free, but they taste awesome!!!
I was quite surprised at how smoothly the lamb goes with the mild pepper flavor.
I like them even more than the beef ones we had before.
These sticks are indeed peppery, but not very spicy at all.
A great protein-packed, grass-fed and grass-finished snack to keep you going and feeling great!
Peter even learned to say "snack sticks Puh-lease!"
They must be good!
You can snag yourself some of our lamb snack sticks HERE.
If you are in Laramie, please select local pickup and make sure to enter your address so I can deliver them to your door, and you won't have to pay for shipping.
If you are not in Laramie, these snack-stick packs are incredibly easy and simple to ship, compared to most of our other products, so shipping costs stay pretty low when you order.
Get your snack sticks HERE.
These are our #1 Best Seller, so grab yours quick, before they are gone!
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After all this talk about Nitrates and Nitrites, are you troubled over the lack of options for a nitrate-free St. Paddy's Day?
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You don't have to be- we can help!
We have Nitrate-Free Corned Beef Kits that you can DIY in your refrigerator- just add cabbage!
The kits come with everything you will need to make your own Corned Beef using Himalayan Salt, instead of the typical pink-dyed sodium nitrate that is a common ingredient in fertilizers, smoke bombs, and other explosives- yum!
You can even order locally-grown potatoes with your kit (it is a purchase option when you view the kit in my online store, and will automatically be included in your kit box when you select any of the size options "with potatoes").
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I haven't eliminated nitrates completely, I still eat bacon from time to time (this summer one of my goals is to learn how to cure my own bacon, without nitrates) and, as I mentioned above, there are some foods that naturally contain nitrates (like celery, beets, radishes, and lettuce) that I am not planning on giving up, but I have noticed a big difference how I feel when I consciously keep nitrate-preservatives to a minimum in my diet.
I love feeling great after eating, it makes life SO much better!
I hope these tips help you experience the energy, the vibrance, and the delightful buzz of eating nutrient dense, clean, simple, foods.
Happy eating!
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-BJ, Peter, and the Taste of the Wind Crew
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