For many of us, there are few snacks more satisfying than beef jerky.
After all, it scratches almost all the snack itches by itself.
It is salty, savory, portable, shelf-stable, and you can eat it with your hands.
Still, is beef jerky a healthy snack, or is it something better left behind in favor of more proven healthful snack items, such as dry roasted nuts or vegetable sticks? There is definitely healthy jerky out there on the market, but there are a few things that you need to look for in order to ensure that you have the healthiest beef jerky available.
Sodium - Manufacturers love to include lots of sodium in processed and commercial foods for several reasons.
Not only does it extend the shelf life of the food in question, but it also tastes good, especially in conjunction with a savory snack like beef jerky.
Beef jerky is actually one of the worst offenders when it comes to sodium content, containing nearly 2000 mg in a standard bag.
Preservatives and Carcinogens - When meat is cured, dried, or aged, it has a natural tendency to turn grey.
Unfortunately, the color grey isn't as appetizing to a consumer, so the manufacturers, in order to keep that bright red color, include a chemical called sodium nitrite.
Why is this important? Because sodium nitrite breaks down in the body to nitrosamines, which have been found to cause cancer.
To try to minimize the cancer-causing effects of nitrite, additional preservatives, such as sodium erythorbate, are added.
High Fructose Corn Syrup - Whenever you discuss a commercial product, whether it is savory or sweet, more likely than not it will contain some level of high fructose corn syrup, partially for its sweetness and partially for its preservative power.
Now, you might think that beef jerky, which generally is not sweet, would not contain any corn syrup.
Unfortunately, just looking through the bags at the grocery store, more often than not, it was listed among the ingredients.
Manufacturers add chemicals and other ingredients to their food products for a number of reasons, but the two most common are to make them appeal to customers and to make them last longer on the shelf.
There are plenty of healthy organic varieties available, but there are a few things common to the unhealthy type that should be avoided.
High levels of sodium, the addition of other preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup are three things that mark a bad bag of jerky.
If you see them, steer clear and everything will be fine.
After all, it scratches almost all the snack itches by itself.
It is salty, savory, portable, shelf-stable, and you can eat it with your hands.
Still, is beef jerky a healthy snack, or is it something better left behind in favor of more proven healthful snack items, such as dry roasted nuts or vegetable sticks? There is definitely healthy jerky out there on the market, but there are a few things that you need to look for in order to ensure that you have the healthiest beef jerky available.
Sodium - Manufacturers love to include lots of sodium in processed and commercial foods for several reasons.
Not only does it extend the shelf life of the food in question, but it also tastes good, especially in conjunction with a savory snack like beef jerky.
Beef jerky is actually one of the worst offenders when it comes to sodium content, containing nearly 2000 mg in a standard bag.
Preservatives and Carcinogens - When meat is cured, dried, or aged, it has a natural tendency to turn grey.
Unfortunately, the color grey isn't as appetizing to a consumer, so the manufacturers, in order to keep that bright red color, include a chemical called sodium nitrite.
Why is this important? Because sodium nitrite breaks down in the body to nitrosamines, which have been found to cause cancer.
To try to minimize the cancer-causing effects of nitrite, additional preservatives, such as sodium erythorbate, are added.
High Fructose Corn Syrup - Whenever you discuss a commercial product, whether it is savory or sweet, more likely than not it will contain some level of high fructose corn syrup, partially for its sweetness and partially for its preservative power.
Now, you might think that beef jerky, which generally is not sweet, would not contain any corn syrup.
Unfortunately, just looking through the bags at the grocery store, more often than not, it was listed among the ingredients.
Manufacturers add chemicals and other ingredients to their food products for a number of reasons, but the two most common are to make them appeal to customers and to make them last longer on the shelf.
There are plenty of healthy organic varieties available, but there are a few things common to the unhealthy type that should be avoided.
High levels of sodium, the addition of other preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup are three things that mark a bad bag of jerky.
If you see them, steer clear and everything will be fine.
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