Beyond just being loaded with “artery-clogging saturated fat” and sodium, bacon has been long considered unhealthy due to the use of nitrates and nitrites in the curing process. Many conventional doctors, and well-meaning friends and relatives, will say you’re basically asking for a heart attack or cancer by eating the food many Paleo enthusiasts lovingly refer to as “meat candy”.
The belief that nitrates and nitrates cause serious health problems has been entrenched in popular consciousness and media. Watch this video clip to see Steven Colbert explain how the coming bacon shortage will prolong our lives thanks to reduced nitrates in our diets.
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In fact, the study that originally connected nitrates with cancer risk and caused the scare in the first place has since been discredited after being subjected to a peer review. There have been major reviews of the scientific literature that found no link between nitrates or nitrites and human cancers, or even evidence to suggest that they may be carcinogenic. Further, recent research suggests that nitrates and nitrites may not only be harmless, they may be beneficial, especially for immunity and heart health. Confused yet? Let’s explore this issue further.
Find out why you shouldn’t be concerned about nitrates & nitrites in bacon.
Where Does Nitrate/Nitrite Exposure Come From?
It may surprise you to learn that the vast majority of nitrate/nitrite exposure comes not from food, but from endogenous sources within the body. (1)
When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites. On average, about 93% of nitrites we get from food come from vegetables. It may shock you to learn that one serving of arugula, two servings of butter lettuce, and four servings of celery or beets all have more nitrite than 467 hot dogs. (2) And your own saliva has more nitrites than all of them! So before you eliminate cured meats from your diet, you might want to address your celery intake. And try not to swallow so frequently.
All humor aside, there’s no reason to fear nitrites in your food, or saliva. Recent evidence suggests that nitrites are beneficial for immune and cardiovascular function; they are being studied as a potential treatment for hypertension, heart attacks, sickle cell and circulatory disorders. Even if nitrites were harmful, cured meats are not a significant source, as the USDA only allows 120 parts per million in hot dogs and bacon. Also, during the curing process, most of the nitrite forms nitric oxide, which binds to iron and gives hot dogs and bacon their characteristic pink color. Afterwards, the amount of nitrite left is only about 10 parts per million.
And if you think you can avoid nitrates and nitrites by eating so-called “nitrite- and nitrate-free” hot dogs and bacon, don’t be fooled. These products use “natural” sources of the same chemical like celery and beet juice and sea salt, and are no more free from nitrates and nitrites than standard cured meats. In fact, they may even contain more nitrates and nitrites when cured using “natural” preservatives.
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What Happens When You Eat Nitrates and Nitrites
It’s important to understand that neither nitrate nor nitrite accumulate in body. Ingested nitrate from food is converted into nitrite when it contacts our saliva, and of the nitrate we eat, 25% is converted into salivary nitrite, 20% converted into nitrite, and the rest is excreted in the urine within 5 hours of ingestion. (3) Any nitrate that is absorbed has a very short half-life, disappearing from our blood in under five minutes. (4) Some nitrite in our stomach reacts with gastric contents, forming nitric oxide which may have many beneficial effects. (5, 6) You can listen to my podcast “Does Red Meat Increase Your Risk of Death?” for more information on this topic.
In general, the bulk of the science suggests that nitrates and nitrites are not problematic and may even be beneficial to health. Critical reviews of the original evidence suggesting that nitrates/nitrites are carcinogenic reveals that in the absence of co-administration of a carcinogenic nitrosamine precursor, there is no evidence for carcinogenesis. (7) Newly published prospective studies show no association between estimated intake of nitrite and nitrite in the diet and stomach cancer. (8) Nitric oxide, formed by nitrite, has been shown to have vasodilator properties and may modulate platelet function in the human body, improving blood pressure and reducing heart attack risk. (9, 10, 11) Nitrates may also help boost the immune system and protect against pathogenic bacteria (12, 13, 14)
So what do we take from this? There’s no reason to fear nitrates and nitrites in food. No reason to buy nitrate-free, uncured bacon. No reason to strictly avoid cured meats, particularly those from high quality sources (though it may make sense to limit consumption of them for other reasons). In fact, because of concerns about trichinosis from pork, it makes a lot more sense in my opinion to buy cured bacon and other pork products. I do.
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so synthetic folic acid is bad vs real folate in food (as per a previous article of yours) but synthetic nitrates/ites in bacon are equal to nitrates/ites in vegetables???? i think synthetically made vs naturally occurring is more relavent here.
I very much agree. I used to react to added msg, but never to naturally occurring msg (as in a big plate of tomatoes). I react to added sulfite, but never to naturally occurring sulfites. Some manufactured amino acids (for example cysteine) can be exitotoxic, but their non-denatured forms are not. How different is manufactured nitrate to naturally occurring I wonder?
Should we be concerned about the quality of the meat? When they take the care to not put nitrates or nitrites in the meat, it usually means that the quality that goes into raising the meat on the earth instead of in confinement lots (most of the bacon out there) is on a higher level. Bacon is mostly fat and toxins in the food the pigs ate goes right into the fat and then into us. Many farmers use GMO soy & corn.
while they may or may not cause heart problems and cancer problems, I for one have an allergy to nitrates and nitrites that cause me to have to go to the hospital for treatment of migraines. SO they ARE NOT harmless to all people!!!
Chris Kresser,
Interesting you tout research as if research is solid or unbiased. Today, it is justification for trusting nitrites/nitrates. Yesterday, it was justification for mistrust of nitrites/nitrates.
By parroting whatever you are reading and with lack of direct experience, you have little reason for such certainty.
My body responds negatively to nitrites and nitrates. I discovered this before any article I read on the subject. Due to my body’s response, nitrates and nitrites are unhealthy for me. Therefore, I view your suggestion that they are not unhealthy and they better one’s health as lacking credibility.
On a personal note, I recently started reading your blog. I found out about you via a webinar in which you presented yourself well, after which I concluded you might have the kind of integrity and approach I look for in a medical professional. I read your blog with a certain level of trust. I also shared your webinar and blog with friends and family.
In reading your blog, I am seeing a side of you I did not before. It seems you may be more interested in presenting yourself as a guru for others’ bodies and health vs. presenting ways for people to know and trust themselves and their own bodies’ responses. This is concerning to see, and I wonder if you could address this perspective here.
Thank you.
Here is a thought…the best foods to eat are non-processed, natural foods, allowed to roam free and eat as God had intended. Now, if you make enough money to eat from foods of this caliber than go forth and prosper. If, however, you are not than eat what makes your body feel the best…period. Listen to your body, what is your overall health? Any underlying conditions, skin, autoimmune, etc? Well likely they are directly caused by what you are eating. For me, Paleo makes me feel the best I’ve felt in 40 years. What works for other people I respect and value ALL options and views. To each their own. Peace.
The “artery-glogging saturated fat” myth has been well and truly busted now.
Have you seen the recent front cover of Time Magazine?
http://www.examiner.com/article/saturated-fat-gets-vindicated-by-mainstream-media-on-stunning-time-cover
Dr Kessler, Nitrates aside, should there still be concern for meats that are smoked which often include nitrates?
Not as concerned about possibly causing cancer. We are all going at some point. However, the trip getting there is more important to me. Was interested to know your thoughts on the connection between nitrates/nitrites and migraine pain.
Thanks
Chris,
Isn’t it possible — if not indeed, likely — that NATURALLY occurring nitrates/nitrites in vegetables (& in saliva, if you like) actually have a different effect on the body than chemically synthesized or processed versions that are then added to meats post facto??
You (& many commenting above) have spent a lot of attention on the issue of the DOSE in vegetables versus that in processed meats, but I would be very interested in learning more about the provenance of the nitrite/nitrate used in processed meats. I think it will take quite a bit more evidence to convince me that something created or processed by man and added to my food is somehow healthier than natural foods, that have had as little human intervention as possible in their production. I would also be interested in understanding whether the nitrate content of vegetables has always been that high, through history and prehistory, or organic versus those treated with high-nitrogen-containing fertilisers.
Also, what are the chemical pathways that the nitrates in veg undergo after ingestion? What is the purpose of the nitrites in saliva and what are they created from? There was no mention in your article of how and why they are there.
It’s an interesting article, and I was hoping very much to be convinced, but I’m afraid I’m still wary.
Go Mollie… I am with you!
I wonder too… if they are not “bad” why are the companies removing them now days… ? I had this thought about 2 months after reading this article.. because just 2 months ago, it was not so easy to find nitrate free hotdogs and lunch meat… Now, it is a bit more common…. just a thought…
I also agree that anything MADE BY MAN can NEVER EVER be heather than NATURAL EARTH GIVEN NUTRITION!
Well, seeing as how nitrates and nitrites are defined chemicals, I’d say that the difference between naturally occuring and artificial is exactly zero.
Nitrites and nitrates describe a large class of molecules. There are indeed differences between them just like there are differences between sugars. There are studies suggesting for instance that the combination of olive oil and green plants such as spinach, eaten together results in the production of nitrites with a beneficial effect on blood pressure- they lead to the ‘relaxation’ of blood vessels.
Studies are constantly being released by one side and discredited from another depending on interests. I think however that the correlation between processed meats and disease should be taken seriously. They contain high amounts of salt, saturated fats and chemicals of which the effects on the body are not fully understood. It is dangerous for opinions such as those expresses on this website to be taken seriously. Even the scientists conducting the research cannot agree, so why should we take the authors words for Gospel? As the ancient philosophers said- everything in moderation
Like Mindy said, those who get migraines, or cluster headaches like myself, really need to try and avoid nitrate rich food as it can trigger the headaches.
We migrainuers matter too! 🙂
What you say may be so, however, if you are a migrainuer, you may be extremely sensitive to high levels of nitrates as they can trigger migraines.
Just sayin.
…and have you ever had a migraine triggered by eating a salad, Mindy?
I would love to explore the validity of this article with source citations. Would you please share?
I’d like to know which scientists were the “peer reviewers” of the study that discredited nitrates. I’d like to know who sponsored the peer reviewers. Not to be overly cynical but oftentimes industry will sponsor “peer reviewers” to discredit studies that show problems in our food supply introduced by Big Ag.
I think you’ve misunderstood what peer review means. Peer review is the process by which scientific journals decide whether research submitted to them for publication is scientifically valid by having other scientists in the same field read the work first.
Follow up studies and peer review are very different things.
As to industrial funding, whenever scientists get funding from industry, the company will always insist that their name/logo etc is all over any posters or talks and that the funding is acknowledged in any published research. So whilst conflicts of interest can arise, they’re super easy to spot, if not explicitly declared (which they often are).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7443155
“Nitrate, after its absorption in the upper gastrointestinal tract, reaches the salivary glands via the blood circulation where it is secreted into the oral cavity and partially reduced to nitrite by the oral microflora. There is a linear relationship between the amounts of nitrate ingested and amounts of nitrate and nitrite found in saliva.”
It doesn’t just appear magically.
THANK you!!!
DIETARY NITRATE vs. NITRITE:
WHY NOT JUST SHORT-CIRCUIT THE NITRATE-NITRITE-NITRIC OXIDE PATHWAY AND SIMPLY DRINK NITRITE? This may be a bad idea.
Runner’s World writer Alex Hutchinson provides a thoughtful summary of Lundberg’s pioneering discovery of how inorganic nitrate naturally found in beet juice (and leafy greens) is bio-converted to nitric oxide through a circuitous pathway in the body (http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/should-you-gargle-beet-juice). This pathway involves the swallowing of beet juice resulting in the extraction of inorganic nitrate from the blood stream, which is concentrated in the saliva gland.
Upon release from the saliva gland, beet-derived nitrate is metabolized to the more reactive nitrite by the bacteria within the mouth only to be swallowed, which may be further metabolized to nitric oxide within the body to do its ‘magic’.
This summary was in response to a suggestion in Runners World Sweat Science blog: If the beet juice magic happens through its interaction with the saliva in your mouth, …, why not just rinse and spit the beet juice?
In light of the science, this question begs a follow on question: why not just short-circuit the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway and simply drink nitrite?
At first blush, it sounds reasonable, especially if a runner is eager to enhance their performance, however, this may be a bad idea.
While inorganic nitrate, especially when delivered in beet juice (or a spinach salad or smoothie) is nontoxic even in high doses, nitrite can be harmful at low concentrations. A case of unintentional nitrite ingestion by an athlete was reported on a runners internet form where the athlete developed symptoms suggestive of methemoglobinemia.
Hence, there may be a very good reason why nitrate undergoes this circuitous route in the body to form nitric oxide. Keep in mind that only a minor part of the nitrate is converted to nitrite in our body and the metabolism of beet-derived nitrate is in fact released in a relatively slow and controlled fashion in the body, which may be critically important in optimizing the beneficial effects of nitrate-nitric oxide bio-conversion, while minimizing the potential harmful side effects of its intermediate, nitrite. The fact that beets and leafy greens are rich in nitrate with little, if any detectible, nitrite may also provide some insight as to why we should be weary of supplements spiked with nitrite.
So, stay with natural sources of inorganic nitrate such as whole vegetables and vegetable juice. And the next time you drink a shot of commercially-available beet juice or make your pre-race drink with beet powder supplements, ask one important question: is your beet juice or beet juice powder supplement spiked with nitrite? Based on the science, today, there is no need to ingest nitrite or by pass the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway.
Unfortunately, there are a growing number of supplements that spike their products with nitrite. The reality is that there are some nitrate-rich beet root juices and powders made from pure beets — with a mix of fruits — which are wonderfully effective at reducing blood pressure and enhancing performance without the addition of nitrite.
Our suggestion is that It may not be prudent to short-circuit the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway. Just stay with all nature, NITRATE-rich beets and pure-beet juice or spinach-argula salads, juices, and smoothies. Keep healthy and safe.
Some editorials to consider –
http://jp.physoc.org/content/589/22/5333.full
http://jap.physiology.org/content/111/2/616
Very interesting. Comes close to touching on my line of query regarding the way vegetable nitrate would be processed by the body versus straight chemical nitrate/nitrite put into meat as an additive. If drinking straight nitrite in a sports drink circumvents the natural chemical processes that have evolved in our bodies, then so would gulping down nitrate/-trite in processed deli meats.
Since Nitrate/nitrites have been fairly conclusively proven to be an environmental trigger for Alzheimer’s/Dementia go ahead and eat your bacon, eventually someone will put it back in your mouth for you…
Hmm… Then it makes me wonder what’s in deli case sliced salami, pepperoni, etc that upsets my stomach so and makes me terribly bloated. I don’t have the same problem with more ‘natural’ nitrite/nitrate-free brands of cured pork and other meats.
So many experts…..so little time…….you either eat it or you don’t…..if it isn’t a staple in your diet do you really have to sweat the small stuff? Just sayin’.
A question came up on one of the Paleo FB groups about SPAM and whether it was Paleo friendly or not. many cited nitrates and then one cited your article about not fearing nitrates. So I thought I’d ask… is SPAM Paleo friendly or not?
Thanks.
No! Could a caveman have eaten it?? No! So, just no!
I would never eat spam.. is it still sold in cans too? So bisphenol-A hormone disruptors in addition to the over 50% fat content, high salt, and preservatives.. I can’t imagine choosing a lower quality source of “meat” than Spam.
PROCESSED MEATS DO CAUSE CANCER!
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer said so in their 2014 report, listing nitrosodimethylamine (“present in foodstuffs especially those cooked, smoked or cured”) as a carcinogen. They put it in Group 1, not “possibly carcinogenic,” not “probably carcinogenic” but “carcinogenic to humans.” http://bit.ly/PLEkq0
The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, in their most recent report, found “convincing evidence” that processed meats increase the risk of colorectum cancer and “limited suggestive evidence” that they increase the risk of oesophagus, lung, stomach and prostate cancer. http://bit.ly/1pHeJ2j
Even the American Cancer Society, which has, sadly, been known to report on studies funded by the American Meat Institute and the National Pork Board, will at least go as far as to say “Some studies have linked eating large amounts of processed meat to increased risk of colorectal and stomach cancers. This connection may or may not be due to nitrites, which are added to many luncheon meats, hams, and hot dogs to maintain color and to prevent bacterial growth. Eating processed meats and meats preserved by methods involving smoke or salt increases exposure to potential cancer-causing agents and should be reduced as much as possible.” http://bit.ly/1eEkxBN
My husband was eating bacon (or sausage) daily for several years, (I wasn’t-only occasionally eating it) He also ate lots of hotdogs and other processed meats as well as regular consumption of grilled red meats. He was diagnosed with stage IIa rectal cancer last fall. It is hard to know the cause for sure, but he has not had bacon or processed meats since then. We still eat red meats, have been increasing fruits & veggies, and we’ve started eating legumes again. We’ve been doing the Resistant starch(PS) with soil based probiotics. He chose to have conventional chemo and radiation treatment. The tumor was no longer there when checked 4 weeks after completing treatment. He will be monitored for any possible re-occurrence instead of having surgery and more chemo. I know it is just n-1…. At the very least, I think that processed meats might be best eaten only occasionally.
Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food – Hippocrates
Do some research. There is a LOT of natural healing information for cancer on the web. Cancer is a symptom and a disease and unless you heal the underlying problem it may surface again. Ty Bollinger is one guy to start with just because he brings all the doctors who use natural treatments together in his videos, but there are lots of others. The good thing is that most of the healing requires no doctors, no money, only knowledge.
I remember doing an experiment in my food chemistry class to determine how much cancer linked nitrosamines were formed from spinach over 30 years ago at UC Berkeley. We concluded in the presence of heat AND bacteria, you get nitrosamines being formed from either nitrates or nitrites.. it was a long time ago and I’m doing work on pesticides now, so have not thought about this cycle in a long time until my husband (an MD) sent me this article who wants to eat all the junk food he can muster. I appreciate Grace’s response. In our GI tract, the nitrites or nitrates get converted in the presence of stomach acid as I recall… but heat and definitely older and aging spinach with more bacteria significantly increased the amount of nitrosamines formed. I think we used the Kehdal sp? method to measure the different forms of N.
I also read in the Nutrition Action magazine, written by a large number of peer-reviewed Nutrition Programs in Universities in the U.S., that nitrates/nitrites should be avoided due to enough evidence that they are of health risk. I am however now curious as to whether or not “natural” additives that the author says adds N preservation character to the food may also be just as risky such as celery juice and beet juice? I have never heard of this and am curious if anyone else is knowlegeable. Also, who is the author of the original article funded by?
Hello Chris. I don’t fear bacon, i love it. A problem with sodium nitrate/nitrite and me: I get a rashes around the front of my lower neck, then a few days later, i get what look like moles or warts in the region. I am suffering from what i think is Candidiasis. I have tried salt cured bacon from trader Joe’s and nothing happened. I hope this helps you and others. Thank You.