Pork
Why pork is inflammatory
Pork is inflammatory, and most of that comes from how it reaches the plate rather than from the animal itself. Bacon, ham, sausage, chorizo and deli slices are all pork, and every one of them has been salted and cured before you buy it. Curing adds salt and the preservatives that keep the meat pink, and cured meat turns up again and again next to higher inflammation markers in a blood test.
Pig fat is also unlike cow fat. A pig stores something close to what it eats, and most pigs are fed corn and soy. So their fat carries a lot of linoleic acid, the main fat in both of those crops. Your body uses part of it to build the compounds that take part in inflammation. Cow fat barely shifts with feed, so pork can read leaner than beef on the label and still pull in the same direction.
Those two things are why pork scores 7 out of 10 on the inflammation scale. Not every piece is the same, though. A trimmed loin chop is close to chicken breast in fat, and pork is the best food source there is of thiamine, the B vitamin that turns food into energy.
Buy it fresh, keep the portion to the size of your palm and cook it gently instead of charring it. The version that keeps pork at a 7 is the one that comes out of the packet already pink.
Pork on the AIP diet
Fresh pork is allowed during the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol, and AIP treats it as a staple protein. Cured pork is the part that goes. Bacon, ham, sausage and deli slices bring sugar, seed spices and preservatives with them, and sausage skins can hide gluten. Buy a plain cut, check that the label lists meat and nothing else, and cook it at home.
Benefits
- Complete protein, with every amino acid your body cannot make
- The best food source of thiamine, the B vitamin that turns food into energy
- A trimmed loin chop is close to chicken breast in fat
- Selenium, zinc and vitamin B6 in useful amounts
Watch out for
- Most pork is eaten cured: bacon, ham, sausage and deli slices
- Curing adds a lot of salt and the preservatives that keep meat pink
- Fat from grain-fed pigs is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat
- Charring and frying create compounds your body treats as irritants
Get the inflammation score of any meal
Just snap a photo or describe your food to get its inflammation score and uncover hidden patterns that may be affecting your well-being.
Frequently asked
Is pork inflammatory?
Yes, it scores 7 out of 10 on the inflammation scale. Cured pork does most of the work: bacon, ham and sausage carry salt and preservatives that fresh meat does not. A plain loin chop in a normal portion sits well below that.
Is pork red meat or white meat?
Red meat, in nutrition terms. Pork turns pale when you cook it, which is where the white meat idea comes from, but it is grouped with beef and lamb because of what is in it rather than what colour it goes.
Is bacon worse than a pork chop?
Yes, and the gap is wide. Bacon has been cured, salted and usually fried, and that combination is what nutrition advice means when it says processed meat. A fresh chop is a different food.
Can I eat pork on the AIP diet?
Yes. Fresh, unseasoned pork is allowed from day one, elimination included. Bacon, ham, sausage and anything sold with a spice rub is not.
Anti-inflammatory recipes with Pork
The easiest way to follow an anti-inflammatory diet.
Identify inflammatory foods in seconds, log your symptoms and discover what’s inflaming you. Includes hundreds of recipes.
