--- title: Bacon: What It Really Does to Your Body description: Bacon reserves are at a 60-year low. Maybe it's time to rethink eating so much of it canonical: https://time.com/4656566/bacon-body-health/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-01T16:37:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:23.100Z article:section: Health og:title: What Bacon Really Does to Your Body og:description: Bacon reserves are at a 60-year low. Maybe it's time to rethink eating so much of it og:url: https://time.com/4656566/bacon-body-health/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Bacon Really Does to Your Body twitter:description: Bacon reserves are at a 60-year low. Maybe it's time to rethink eating so much of it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # What Bacon Really Does to Your Body > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) and [Heather Jones](https://time.com/author/heather-jones/) Feb 1, 2017 4:37 PM UTC by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) and [Heather Jones](https://time.com/author/heather-jones/) Feb 1, 2017 4:37 PM UTC Americans are eating so much bacon these days, our reserves of the fatty meat are at the [lowest levels seen in half a century](http://fortune.com/2017/02/01/bacon-reserves-record-low-ohio-pork-council/). According to the non-profit Ohio Pork Council, inventory of frozen pork belly dropped to 17.8 million pounds in December, which means we aren’t going to run out any time soon, but prices will likely rise for the breakfast staple. But this news might be a good moment for Americans to reflect on their bacon habit. In 2015, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency found that processed meats like bacon cause colorectal cancer, making headlines and disappointing bacon lovers everywhere. In a [cover story](http://time.com/4092378/red-meat-hot-dogs-and-the-war-on-delicious/) called “[The War on Delicious](http://time.com/4091457/bacon-cover/),” TIME explained the findings meant “that 50 grams of processed meat per day — one hot dog or about six pieces of bacon — raises the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.” Here’s exactly how meat processing can cause cancer:  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4656566/bacon-body-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4656566/bacon-body-health/"},"headline":"What Bacon Really Does to Your Body","datePublished":"2017-02-01T16:37:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:23.100Z","description":"Bacon reserves are at a 60-year low. 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