Pork: Is It Worth the Health Risk?

Pork has been much used, much loved, and much maligned over the years Some consider pork a healthy alternative to beef, but many also fear that it requires special precautions. If improperly handled pork can make you ill, and possibly kill you. So, what is the truth? Is pork a dangerous item that should be feared?

Pork is a nutritious choice of meat. By choosing chops or loin cuts, you can have a delicious, moist entrees that are low in fat. Besides being low fat, pork is also rich in nutrients without being loaded with calories. It contains high levels of some essential B vitamins like B6, B12, niacin, thiamine, and riboflavin. In addition to the B vitamins, pork also contains high amounts of other nutrients, providing you with iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. And let's not forget the protein. A three ounce portion of pork provides nearly half of the daily requirements for protein.

But is it worth it? Is it worth the risk?

Pigs have a reputation of being dirty animals. Pigs are susceptible to infection by a parasite called Trichinella that lives in the muscles. This poisoning for this parasite is what causes trichinosis, the biggest risk of eating pork

So again, is it worth the risk?

The truth is, in the past decade food borne illness related to pork has decreased dramatically. Last year only 7% of all food borne illness cases reported were related to pork. And trichinosis? The Center for Disease Control reported that between 1997 and 2001 there was an average of only 12 cases of trichinosis per year reported. There are two main reasons for the decreases in cases of illness related to pork.

The first factor is increased public awareness. People have long heard about the dangers of pork. People are more careful to use precautions when cooking pork products. Cooking pork completely brings the internal temperature high enough to kill the trichinella. The Center for Disease Control recommends cooking pork to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Other sources have said that temperatures of 140 to 150 degrees are sufficient. It has also been found that freezing pork cuts of 6-inches or less for 20 days at 5 degrees or less will also kill trichinella. These two factors have been very effective in controlling the cases of food born illness.

The other factor is changes in legislation. Trichinella is only found in carnivorous animals. It is now illegal for raw meat products to be used in feeding pigs. Without ingesting meat that has been infected with trichinella, the pigs will not infected.

With the increase in knowledge, and better laws controlling the raising of pigs, pork is now a safe choice for a nutritious choice in your diet.