I make spectacularly healthy (or so I thought!) turkey sandwiches for lunch every day. Fresh bread, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, turkey…. they are beautiful and healthy works of art. I’m constantly thinking of new ways to spice ‘em up. Sliced avocado? Swapping out provolone for some swiss? Perhaps a few slices of green apple? Turkey is my daily go-to; a healthy dose of protein that can be dressed up or down depending on what is (or, more likely, what isn’t) stocked in my fridge.

But it’s starting to look like my turkey days are dwindling. Sob. Researchers at Harvard and the more than one million research participants have found that much like tanning, drinking, watching TV, sitting on the computer and everything else I do in my daily life, turkey and other processed meats are officially BAD for us.

What the heck are processed meats? The powers that be define these as “any meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or with the addition of chemical preservatives.” Unfortunately, this covers bacon, deli meats, hot dogs, and more. Like Slim Jims and jerky. [Although, don't act surprised – did you really think Slim Jims came straight from chickens or cows or… wait, where do Slim Jims come from? Exactly.]

Anyway, they found that eating hot dogs, deli meat (even the super lean stuff!), salami, sausage, and bacon can increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes. And it doesn’t take much. Only two ounces of these processed meats per day will increase your risk of heart disease by 42% and diabetes by 19%! For your reference, two ounces is…

-  A few strips of bacon
-  One hot dog
-  Two slices of deli meat

And two ounces to me is an end to tasty breakfasts, pre-game chow and, of course, my lunchtime mainstay.

The good news in all this? Burgers and gyros are still OK; red meat doesn’t carry the same risks as our smoked and processed friends. Renata Micha, a researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health, says that on average, processed meats have “four times more sodium and 50 percent more nitrate preservatives” than red meat. So there’s that….

RIP, turkey sandwich. I already miss your smokey flavor, versatility, and how good I felt when I was making “healthy” lunch choices. I guess I will now just have to turn to other great sources of protein for my mid-day meal: grilled chicken, hummus, beans, and, I guess, the old elementary school favorite, peanut butter.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/dont-bring-home-the-bacon/?src=me&ref=health

Week after week (after week after week…), CollegeCandy and our pal John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, and saddest things he hears on his college campus. And we know he’s not the only one who hears this stuff. Join the Overheard revolution! Listen in on some weirdos’ conversations and share them in the comments or send ‘em over. You know there’s a lot of funny things to be heard on your campus, so get to it. We’ll throw them in a future post!

(Two girls in the dining hall.)

Girl 1: God, I am seriously the best wing man ever!

Girl 2: Well, who’s your wing man?

Girl 1: (Pointing to her breasts and shimmying) I’ve got two.

(Man, woman, waiting in the lobby of a hair salon.)

Man (looking in mirror): What do you think? It worked for Wolverine, you know.

Woman: No. It wouldn’t work for you.

Man: It’s … it’s working already.

(Two guys, in a dorm community kitchen.)

Guy 1: What the f—?

Guy 2:  I can’ t cook these. These are like, Russian Nesting Kielbasas or something.

(Guys talking over dinner at the dining hall.)

Guy: I wouldn’t want to kick any girl filled with toffee. She can keep it.

(Guys, girl, talking in a dorm hallway.)

Guy 1: God. So itchy. I hate Beardvember.

Guy 2: I think it’s Novembeard, right?

Guy 3: I’m used to hearing “No Shave November.”

Girl: I always just called it “30 days of pubes.”

(Girl, serving herself food, looking quizzically at the pasta.)

Girl: Who stole the insides of these?

(Two girls and a guy, in the library.)

Girl 1: I wish all the lights were tanning bulbs.

Girl 2: I know! We’d be so tan, we could just pretend it’s summer. No one would know. It would be amazing.

Guy: Yeah, or we’d all burn to a crisp after our eyeballs fall out. It would be like “‘attack of the sick overworked bacon students in the library.”

Girl 1:  Way to bring me down. Debbie friggin’ Downer. Now I want a breakfast sandwich.

Girl 2: Ooh, with bacon?

Guy: I hate you both.

(Girl, on the phone.)

Girl: It’s not that. It’s that I never believe you any more. I don’t … no! I can’t trust you! I just can’t! Listen, I can’t do this right now. Can I hang up and just text you instead?

(Girl and guy, walking past yelling girl on campus thoroughfare.)

Girl 1 (yelling): Who wants some free koofers?

Girl 2: What’s a koofer?

Guy: It’s a sensation you get down in your nethers.

(Two girls, on computers in the library.)

Girl 1: All these guys are such crap.

Girl 2: Yeah, I want to date the good guys. I want the good guys with the right moves.

I have never really liked meat. The idea of a bloody (or even well-done) steak with neatly criss-crossed grill marks on my plate has never been appealing to me, and I have basically limited my carnivorous intake to the occasional chicken breast. My boyfriend is a vegetarian, and I can go for long stretches of time without eating any meat at all. So why am I not a vegetarian, too, already?

Here are the reasons I’ve come up with (while sitting over a bowl of my mom’s famous beef stew):

- It still doesn’t seem to be quite accepted. If you’re invited to dinner at someone’s house or invited to a wedding or some other bash, it’s assumed that you eat meat. If you don’t, you either have to make everyone feel bad by arranging for a special plate or you have to forage for roots and berries among the side dishes.

- Some of my favorite dishes from childhood have meat in them. Sure, I don’t eat them now, but when I go home and my mom makes them, it’s sweet (and they’re still delicious). Knowing I couldn’t eat those anymore would kind of depress me. Wait, who am I kidding? It would totally depress me.

- One of my goals is to travel around the world, and I don’t want to have to limit myself in any way when I do that. Especially when it comes to eating local fare that may or may not come from an animal.

- BACON. Need I say more?

Okay, but lately I’ve been giving these things more serious thought. World Vegetarian Day – which is happening right now! – is arriving at a perfect time for me, because I’m finally considering just making the plunge and going full veg. After all, none of my reasons from above are really relevant on an everyday basis, and here’s something else: fake meat is surprisingly good. Yeah, that’s right. I said it. That Morningstar bacon will never come from a real hog and will always look and taste just a little bit off, but honestly, it’s pretty damn good. Good enough for me to give up the real stuff.

Plus, protein is everywhere. I didn’t realize I ate so much protein on an everyday basis until I started tracking my food with The Daily Plate and saw that I usually get about 250% to 300% of my daily protein requirement – all without eating meat. These foods are just bursting with protein and I happen to eat them (in large quantities) on a daily basis:

Eggs
Milk
Soy milk
Cottage cheese
Regular cheese
Yogurt
Peanut butter
Nuts
Lentils

I don’t need some artery clogging meat to survive. I can live meat-free and still get everything I need. So here it is: October 1, 2009 just might be the onset of my own personal journey toward vegetarianism.

PETA, call me! I wanna do one of those naked ads!

What do you vegetarians think? Is it easy? What made you decide? Why should I do it?

“That’s not how she can do it in our family. She acts like she’s the queen, and we’re the sorry people!”

I’m going to level with you guys—it’s Friday. If there was ever a time to put off work by watching funny YouTube videos (or, you know, to avoid writing a real blog post by posting a funny video instead—hypothetically speaking), now is that time.

Meet King Curtis. King Curtis is somewhere between the ages of 9 and 12 (… I think. I stopped knowing how to judge how old kids are when I hit puberty), and he rules his household with a tiny, iron fist. When his indulgent mom gets swapped with another, stricter lady on ABC’s Wife Swap, King Curtis is forced to face the unthinkable: that he may not be allowed to stuff himself with spray cheese and bacon for the duration of filming.

But King Curtis won’t take this assault on junk food lying down—he’s royalty, goddamnit, and he deserves better. For your viewing pleasure, here’s the greatest tantrum ever captured on camera:

]]> http://collegecandy.com/2009/09/25/bacon-is-good-for-me-video/feed/ 6 Hillary - Columbia king curtis http://collegecandy.com/2009/04/28/candy-dish-megan-fox-is-scaring-us/ http://collegecandy.com/2009/04/28/candy-dish-megan-fox-is-scaring-us/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:00:16 +0000 CC Staff http://collegecandy.com/?p=28457 Wow, Megan Fox, that's one tiny corset! • Swine Flu side effects: fever, chills, and Racism? • Julia roberts can cuss like a sailor! • Heart on your sleeve, emoticons on your ears. • First Lindsay, now Ali. Can we expect Dina in a Bikini next? • Bacon flavored lip gloss just sounds wrong.]]> Wow, Megan Fox, that’s one tiny corset!

Swine Flu side effects: fever, chills, and Racism?

Julia roberts can cuss like a sailor!

Heart on your sleeve, emoticons on your ears.

First Lindsay, now Ali. Can we expect Dina in a Bikini next?

Bacon flavored lip gloss just sounds wrong.

Another reason to head to Target!

Kim Kardashian goes blonde. Interesting.

Who does Simon think will win Idol?

Is LC going to be replaced on The Hills?

10 annoying text habits.

Need an excuse? Try the economy.

What is the most stressful moment of a relationship?

Katy Perry shares her thoughts on marriage.

What’s your hangover cure?

Victoria Beckham is too busy for Ugly Betty.

Get that perfect sunkissed look for Spring.

[Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, saddest things he hears on his college campus. Join the Overheard revolution!Leave your own overheard convos in the comments or send ‘em over!]

“Yeah, Catholic high school was abstinence-only. They never taught us about condoms or cock rings or anything like that.”

At Starbucks:

Man: “I can’t help it! I’m impotent!” (Pointing at the drinks menu) “It’s… this Greek goddess stuff!”

“That’s how you choose who gets to keep the dog after the divorce. You can cheat, you know. Rub bacon on your hand or something like that.”

“Yeah. That’s how you choose who gets to keep the kids, too. I think the bacon thing still works.”

“No, I’m not gay. I just like tickle fights with other men.”

A girl sits on a chair. Suddenly, music can be heard

Other girl: “Oh, that’s cool. Your ass turned on my blanket.”

From a CC reader:

Two female professors walking by:

Prof 1: “Our kids just drink too much.”

Prof 2: “Yeah, I don’t think we could get a prostitute to attend the party!”

In a movie theater::

“Shakespeare was all just penis allegory. So is The Goonies.”

Loud woman in a restaurant, after another woman walks in holding a baby.

“What a fine crop of babies we’ve been getting this year!”

At a party:

“Happy 21st! I ate all your wieners!”

In a public bathroom:

Parent: “Now wash your hands in the sink. Use soap! Now dry them.”

Kid: “No.”

Parent: “Use the drier.”

Kid: “No, no no no!”

sound of drier

Afterward, kid: “I couldn’t even hear my screams.”

Girl and guy in a restaurant:

“I don’t want a boyfriend. Boyfriends are like avocados.”

“Why?”

“Not in season. Small, wrinkly and green.”

Salary caps for everyone!

Want free condoms for a year?

Bruce Springsteen hates Ticketmaster charges, too!

Tell us: has CollegeCandy ever looked so tasty?

First Pete Wentz, now 50 Cent is dabbling in man makeup.

10 ways to say I Love You…without saying it.

Jude Law as a Transvestite Supermodel? Yes, it’s true.

90′s styles that should have stayed in the 90′s.

Some very pretty lingerie options for Valentine’s Day.

5 uses for those magazine scent strips.

Innovative ways to make some extra moolah.

This looks healthy.

There is going to be another Hasselbeck running around.

Will Obama’s bailout plan work?

The Biggest Losers love their armpits?

Looks like the Arrested Development movie is a go!

That’s awkward, Mrs. News Anchor.

5 fashion choices that turn men off.

President Barack vs. Elephant Barack.

This tattoo can’t be real, can it?

Mischa Barton will do anything to get back into the limelight.

Dorm food causing some…er…digestion issues? Try yoga!