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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Please forgive me for joining in on the conversation late in the game. My problem with nitrites, nitrates, and monosodium glutamates (MSGs) is that I get intense migraine headaches when I eat any food with these ingredients in them. Of course, as many already know, nitrates and nitrites are a naturally occurring process that takes place in food as it ages and breaks down. This is especially so in processed meats and aged cheeses, you know, the one that are delicious. The good news is that there are many companies that now provide bacon and sausage that do not add MSG, nitrites, or nitrates as their “natural” offering. Unfortunately, not so on the cheese side. You will have to experiment with the dairy products will hurt you and those that don’t. Same with the wines, since just all wines contain nitrates. Good luck, life is an experiment.
There is in my opinion a load of crock being posted about certain reheated foods being poisonous because nitrites are formed when you do so and that the food becomes toxic.
Please confirm that this is not so Chris as I read lots of your stuff and after reading this article it infuriates me when so called “nutrition experts” are re-posting this junk 🙁
What’s the processed meat…cancer explanation then?
This is gross misinformation. While it is true that nitrates and nitrites (different molecules btw) are present in most foods, they are certainly associated with colorectal carcinoma and other kinds of cancer. The problem with nitrite arises when it is cooked in the presence of amino acids, resulting in the production of nitrosamines that will invariably cause cellular damage, DNA/protein addicts, and eventually cancer. This is why raw vegetables, even though potentially high in nitrites, are not associated with cancer. Cooked bacon preserved with nitrites is absolutely not a healthy option and can absolutely contribute to the development of cancer. Don’t eat smoked foods or cook meat well done to avoid nitrosamines.
Please provide links to the science to support this claim.
I would like to know what makes a licensed acupuncturist a viable source of information on this subject.
Excuse me, not a viable but a credible source.
‘After adjustment for potential confounders, the hazard ratios for the highest compared with the lowest category of intake were 1.66 (95% CI = 1.13–2.45) for all processed meats, 1.55 (95% CI = 1.00–2.41) for bacon or side pork, 1.50 (95% CI = 0.93–2.41) for sausage or hotdogs and 1.48 (95% CI= 0.99–2.22) for ham or salami. Stomach cancer risk was 2-fold higher among women in the top quintile of N-nitrosodimethylamine intake when compared with those in the bottom quintile (hazard ratio = 1.96; 95% CI = 1.08–3.58). Our findings suggest that high consumption of processed meat may increase the risk of stomach cancer.’
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.21925/full
Thanks for spreading the info (to fight disinformation).
Nitrites combined with amino acids? So basically, Kale?
See http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/risa.12070/full
from Risk Analysis, 2013. Peer reviewed.
Drinking water as a proportion
of total human exposure to volatile N-nitrosamines
Steve E. Hrudey*, Richard J. Bull, Joseph A. Cotruvo, Greg Paoli and Margaret Wilson
Shows that more than 99% of daily exposure to nitrosamines like NDMA is from endogenous production. Negligible amounts from food or water.
Preservatives do not stop doing what they are designed to do when you eat the bacon. Consider your biome restrict preservatives such as sodium nnitrate. Plenty of research results now all pointing at the problems caused by preservatives.
As soon as I read the ‘About Chris’ section and read the word ‘paleo’, it all made sense. If you look at any cancer institute guidelines for the consumption of bacon (or any other processed meat), they have produced guidelines based on evidence- high quality evidence at that! The hypothesis related to nitrates may not have been accepted in human studies but there is very convincing evidence based on animal models. You have picked at a small part of the evidence and disregarded the rest- that’s ok, you aren’t a credible health professional so it’s to be expected! For anyone reading this comment, there is a significant link between increased processed meat consumption and colorectal cancer. This has been studied by experts who have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field of nutrition- rather than personal belief and experience. You Chris, are every Dietitians worst nightmare! Another self proclaimed ‘expert’ fighting for the paleo cause!
“Dietitians worst nightmare”
Hopefully he would take that as a compliment as he should.
Sorry to say “Dietitian” but you have this completely wrong. Please continue to learn them come back and delete your idiotic comment. You are talking about observational studies of people with a high risk lifestyle and not in the context of a paleo or low carb diet. If using these lifestyles to lose 10% of bodyweight, colorectal cancer risk drops in half. 50% reduction vs the LESS than 2% absolute risk over a lifetime of eating bacon daily.
Thanks for your concern here but you are absolutely wrong.
Bacon
Could you please share the link to the study that shows there is only 2% risk of colorectal cancer with that kind of diet? (you know without a reference, a statistical claim is invalid)
I love the fact how unbiased you are! Your name is Bacon, and you call the opinion of others “absolutely” wrong, like how an extremely religious person would do when it comes to ideological arguments.
Who’s paying you to spread this propaganda? Why are you defending bacon so vehemently? You’re obviously a paid shill.
Bacon …. you would be correct.
Dietitians are of the same cloth as sociologist, economists and political scientists. Their views are more often than not affected by a religious or political affiliation, and can always be traced to an “authority”. … ie., they do not own their own thoughts, they are told what to believe.
From a Pharmacological perspective, there is not one shred of evidence that bacon, or any other meat is bad for you. Epidemiology studies of FAT, stressed, sedentary slobs does not evidence make.
This is especially true with regards to nitrates. Arugula is one of the best sources of nitrates you can eat. …. ya know, that green leafy stuff prized by vegans. If nitrates are bad, so would be arugula. It’s just not so.
“There is not one shred of evidence “? Really?
This statement is unscientific at best. It just shows how rarely you use Google Scholars.
Yep, Chris is technically a dietitian. But he’s ignoring science for profits.
Considering that nitrates and nitrites are some of the most basic chemical components of almost all of the preparations used to treat heart disease, I would hope that this would not be a problem.
Please don’t say ‘every dietitian’. I’m a dietitian. A registered one.
Chris is promoting true health whereas most of the stuff we learn in college is making people sick.
I was applying all the conventional nutrition crap I learned in my practice – I got sick (autoimmune & hormonal issues) and my patients never got better. Until they switched to a real food paleo diet.
me too. Doing all the “right” things, I was sick with autoimmune and several other problems. Paleo is the way to health. Chris and his team read the literature, which is more than I can say for any physician I have had.
Dieticians are the main reason why the world’s population is becoming more and more obese. (If dieticians were correct this trend would have reversed by now). The problem with these “dieticians” is that they simply parrot what they have been taught. They never stop and ask the question “is what I am doing helping or not?”
There is increasing evidence that the diet industry has perpetuated a massive and self serving fraud on the world’s population. People like Noakes, Taubes, Harcomb, Kendrick and others are starting to be heard.
read everything with a pinch of salt. scientific research results published are inevitably biased. you make your own decision based on your belief and your knowledge.
does paraben in your shampoo cause cancer? do saturated fats cause cancer? you read up, you decide. if you believe that such research without taking into account factors like the amount of exercise, veg intake, smoker/non-smoker, alcohol, drugs and medications, other far more ‘harmful’ additives that you will be consuming with your processed food, the environment they live in, the environment in which they were brought up (e.g. malnutrition and lack of hygiene in childhood, common in the war times and in poverty), stress level to mention a few, is credible, it’s your choice. chris said it as he believes, learn to differenciate between opinions and facts. at the end of the day, who are you all trying to convince and what are you trying to prove? don’t eat bacon then, and tell your kids to read the label at the canteen!!! if you didn’t like the fact that this article is written as if it’s the absolute truth, you haven’t seen much of the internet. take it with a pinch of SALT, and chill!
just so you know, my mother never ate bacon or ham (it was just not that common food where we were brought up) and had stomach cancer in her early 40s. my mother in law smokes 60 ciggies a day, is in her 70s, eats ham sandwich every morning and is in a very good shape. as you might have guessed, i sure have made up mind about this damn piece of bacon a long time ago!
Sometime between the age of 80 and 90 your are going to die whether you eat bacon or not. I love bacon. I came from a kosher home and didn’t eat it until i went through boot camp at age. I’ve been eating it ever since . I’m 76 and still going strong.. as an aside Jewish Deli is loaded with nitrates and so is broccoli. My mother never ate an once of cured deli OR bacon and guess what she died from at age 65… Yup… Cancer
Trichinosis mentioned at the end of your article is wrong. If you check the facts there is no trichinosis in America and hasn’t been for many decades. On average there are 10 cases per year. 9 are caused by eating under cooked bear meat and one is caused by eating a backyard pig fed table scraps etc that has been under cooked. I’m a major raiser of the “kobe” pork or the mangalitsa. I eat mangalitsa tartar. Try it some time. It is delicious and nutritious. Also it provides the highest level of unsaturated fat of any domesticated animal. See the Harvard report of 7/5/16 on the health benefits of that fat and you will be amazed.
Thank you for clearing up tricnoices. I don’t offer cook anything. I can’t stand died up meat. And nether did my mother. She told me that was many years ago pork had tobe cooked well because of tricnoices. So again thank you. I lost some credibility of chris kresser when I read the end.
Just one comment here, from a farm girl. The term “uncured” is actually a misnomer. Those meats are, in fact, cured. Curing is what happens with the use of salt, sugar and hanging in the smoke house. My grandfather and father did it without nitrate and nitrite salts, as do those who produce so-called “uncured” meats today. Guess those in the labeling business thought their term would be most effective for sales than calling it nitrate-free or nitrite-free.
Great Comment. That is a distinction that they probably hoped no one would notice. The cumulative unhealthy effect of Nitrates over time wasn’t addressed in this article. Hopefully, the decrease in demand if not an entire BOYCOTT of Nitrate polluted and GMO foods will cause today’s Pharmers to think twice about whether Frankenfood and poisons should really be in our food supply.
I watched an investigation “cash investigation” on TV (France) last night which showed damning evidence of how crooked scientists and lobbyists have been paid to discredit the scientists that have written reports (dating from the 70s) linking nitrates to cancer. Campaigns by the meat industry and big business to constantly sow doubt and buy time. Like this article.
Thanks for your comment Sylvie. Do you remember the name of the documentary? I am really eager to watch it 🙂
Oh! I just saw that you have mentioned the name…great. I will watch it this weekend 🙂
I just watched it too! I agree great show and the meat lobbyists are more crooked than a 3 dollar bill. Cash investigation aired on September 29th on TV5.
nutritionfacts.org
Check it out for some real science or just go straight to the WHO
This site is clearly sponsored by the meat industry
It’s so sad that for many money comes before other people’s lives…so many humans are suffering from cancer and heart diseases and it doesn’t matter even a bit to them…
Again, vegan assumes all science that doesn’t agree with beliefs must be paid for by the meat industry. The WHO is not the only source for real science.
And just for ref reference for anyone who does not know: nutritionscience founded and run by…..a vegan.
Vegan ~ origin ~ ancient Indian word meaning terrible hunter
Ha ha!!! 🙂
Yeah, Dr. Greger must totally be a shill for the Big Broccoli.
You just showed how stupid it is trying to debunk the idea that the super-rich meat industry doesn’t use propaganda.
Every big lobby does this. That includes sugar and vegetable oils. I wouldn’t trust a lot of vegans either because so many act like it’s a religion and use pseudoscience to back up their claims
Lol you come here are send people to that quack Greger at nutrition farse.org?! Really? Very well known to push a vegan/bias message using cherry picked data. Please try again.
Vegan happens to be the natural human diet. The only ones that mind are addicted meat-eaters
Sorry….but we are Omnivores not Herbavores….
Go straight to the WHO…. seriously???? They are just as corrupt as every other government agency!
This is bogus.
I suffered from random headaches for many years, due to sodium nitrite (not nitrate, that is common salt). I was on a doctor’s prescription for ten years to control the headaches. One day the doc said he wanted me to try something new: check the labels, don’t eat anything with sodium nitrite in it
I tried it, it work, I was off the meds. Never had a headache again, except a few months later I ate a mess of choritzo and eggs, woke in the middle of the night with the familiar debilitating headache, stumbled to the kitchen and found the label: contains sodium nitrite.
Sodium nitrite was first developed as an insecticide; then it was added to various foods as a preservative (i.e. to kill bacteria). Many people are quite affected by it.
Salt, and the nitrites in fresh collard greens, have nothing to do with it. The author of the above piece should be ashamed.
Now I’m confused because the doctor put me on a migraine diet which says eliminate nitrates. Ham….bacon….salami etc. So do I avoid sodium nitrites or nitrates?
Eating foods with Sodium nitrates and salt can dehydrate you. If you don’t drink more water to compensate, it could trigger a headace or a migraine. Does it to me everytime
So, like the difference between raw sugar cane and aspertame that is “made from sugar” kind of a thing?
Duh? Common salt or table salt is Sodium Chloride, not Sodium Nitrate. Sorry, but you are so misinformed about Sodium Nitrite. Read about Sodium Nitrite in Wikipedia and you won’t read anything about it being used for insecticides. Sodium Nitrite was first used in medicine.
Unless you keep a careful record of what you were eating you can’t be sure it is the sodium nitrite that is causing your headaches. High blood pressure was causing my headaches and I got my blood pressure back down when I started eating foods with sodium nitrite again, thus getting rid of my headaches. But I kept very detailed records on my health, trying various things and eating various foods.
This is bogus.
I suffered from random headaches for many years, due to sodium nitrite (not nitrate, that is common salt). I was on a doctor’s prescription for ten years to control the headaches. One day the doc said he wanted me to try something new: check the labels, don’t eat anything with sodium nitrite in it
I tried it, it work, I was off the meds. Never had a headache again, except a few months later I ate a mess of choritzo and eggs, woke in the middle of the night with the familiar debilitating headache, stumbled to the kitchen and found the label: contains sodium nitrite.
Sodium nitrite was first developed as an insecticide; then it was added to various foods as a preservative (i.e. to kill germs). Many people are quite sensitive to it.
Salt, and the nitrites in fresh collard greens, have nothing to do with it. The author of the above piece should be ashamed.
Sodium chloride, is common salt, you nitwit. Sodium nitrite is a PRECURSOR for pesticides, as well as pharmaceuticals and dyes.
You connecting sodium nitrite to pesticides is like connecting water with sodium polysulfides which are highly toxic and corrosive. WATER IS A PRECURSOR FOR MANY TOXIC CHEMICALS YOU MORON. Are you going to start telling people that water is bad for you and to stop drinking it?????
If you are not a chemist shut up and talk to one with a real degree. You idiots make me sick.
Breathe Wayne. Just breathe.
Haha… Best four words in the comments. 🙂
Wayne…..go get laid. Hurry.
Great points. Would have been more effective without the name calling.
The name-calling reflects that he made NO good points. Just arrogant & ignorant.
You don’t need to name call him after pointing out he was wrong. Though it was good that you got the correct information across, thanks for that.
Your comment about salt is wrong but I agree about nitrites, I feel really lousy and run down after eating sodium / potassium nitrite containing foods. Every time.
Try drinking more water and stop worrying about nitrates that have nothing to do with your head aches.
Please do not advice people with such certainty in something you are not an expert in. You are not a physician, friend and you don’t want causing suffering for others by giving an advice that can be entirely wrong.
You obviously have never had a migraine…if all we needed to do was drink more water, why would so many of us be plagued with these monsters us headaches for huge portions of our lives??
While most people can tolerate added nitrites/nitrates, a new study has found that those of us cursed with migraines have a particular bacteria in our mouths that has a reaction with the nitrates, resulting in a migraine.
https://www.asm.org/index.php/journal-press-releases/94664-migraines-are-correlated-with-higher-levels-of-nitrate-nitrite-and-nitric-oxide-reducing-oral-microbes-in-the-american-gut-project-cohort
So yes, there is a reason for people to avoid added nitrates/nitrites, and it’s not because we’re too stupid to hydrate!
Thank you. I also agree. There’s nothing wrong with nitrates. Unless they give me migraines. Which they do. 85% of my migraines have been prevented by avoiding nitrates and sulfites.
It’s considered an allergic reaction. Has little to do with hydration. I do find B vitamins help immensely though.
Thanks for this Chris, But this all confusing because I read another saying how harmful nitrites are, and it had studies to back it up. I’m a little confused now.
I also think that responsible doctors and people who really care about human’s health and life quality indeed wouldn’t recommend consuming bacon. Especially now that World Health Organization has announced all processed meats as carcinogenic and red meat as highly possibly carcinogenic after a ten-year study. Even if there was a slightest doubt that bacon might create cancer in people, including kids, one cannot in good conscience recommend it, let alone with all these evidences.
Nothing wrong with read meat or traditionally cured bacon you nimnul!! Red meat is beneficial to a healthy diet
Nitrites in vegetables are not a threat to human health since vegetables contain vitamin C and antioxidants that prevent the nitrite to combine with amines to form the carcinogenic compound, N-nitrosamines. However, the processed meats have no agent to prevent the formation of N-nitrosamines and that is why you need to fear not only bacon, but also all other cured meat products.
That is incorrect. Vitamin c is often added to processed meats to offset any possible ill effects. When eaten as part of a low carb ketogenic diet with the majority of calories coming from saturated fats and meats there are anti cancer benefits of having a much lower blood glucose level (cancers primary fuel) also the ketones created from burning fat produce beta-hydroxybutyraye that feel the good gut bacteria in the colon helping to strengthen gut health and permeability the same way fiber does. Short chain fatty acids are produced. The bottom line.. EAT MORE BACON!
I read in a health book that celery and beet juice is far worse for u just just make sure your meats don’t have that in the ingredients
Could you please share with us the name of that health book please?
Because there are a lot of papers on vegetable natural nitrates (including that from beet roots) that significantly improve athletic performance. But not the synthesized added nitrate to bacon that is full of harmful substances that entirely kills the purpose of a healthy and athletic diet.
[1] M Murphy, K Eliot, R M Heuertz, E Weiss. Whole beetroot consumption acutely improves running performance. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012 Apr;112(4):548-52.
[2]Bailey SJ, Winyard P, Vanhatalo A, Blackwell JR, Dimenna FJ, Wilkerson DP, Tarr J, Benjamin N, Jones AM. Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2009 Oct;107(4):1144-55. Epub 2009 Aug 6.
[3] A M Jones. Influence of dietary nitrate on the physiological determinants of exercise performance: a critical review. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2014 Sep;39(9):1019-28.
Ah, right… because the molecular structure of “natural” nitrites differs from “synthetic” ones … really?
That is a very important question. In structure, they are not different, as far as I know. Nonetheless, the package they come with is entirely disparate. The nitrite in meat interacts with secondary amines to from N-Nitrosamines (NAs) which are highly carcinogenic (genotoxic) [1], [2], [3], [4] (all recent). That doesn’t happen in vegetables (inc. celery and beetroots) and that is why they are not only safe to eat but also very beneficial for sportsmen 🙂
In general, you can trust nature; it is we, humans, who ruin things with our lacking knowledge. We pretend that we know all nature’s mechanisms and that’s why we dare to manipulate its ingredients without thinking about the lives it devastate, blinded by profit.
Also please notice that those who are defending bacon’s being healthy in the comments are either sponsored by a processed meat industry or are owners themselves. I wouldn’t take any advice from them, as I wouldn’t listen to a cigarette manufacturer about the myriad benefits of smoking.
[1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691515000873
[2] http://orbit.dtu.dk/fedora/objects/orbit:127071/datastreams/file_fd230bca-ed6c-46f6-8142-0a98c06b7b3f/content
[3] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.28331/full
[4] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2013.873886
BS – celery juice is usually processed so the nitrite levels are extremely high. It is almost the same exact product as artificial nitrites. There is no real difference when adding this celery juice to meat.
You can drink natural celery or beetroot juice to improve sport performance, especially running [1]. It is generally recommended to stay away from processed foods, even juices (“no manipulating the nature, unless it is dangerous”)
[1] http://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ijsnem.22.1.64
It is possible for there to be two differently acting forms of the exact same chemical name. They’re called enantiomers. http://www.biology-pages.info/E/Enantiomers.html
Gives an example. It’s a more detailed/descriptive name for a chemical. Kind of like saying NaCl instead of salt is a more detailed/useful name.
You did not address the issue or cancer causing nitro amines,you did not even mention them this is disinformation.
One of my chemistry professors in grad school made a comment about diet soda and pepperoni pizza being a perfect combination for cancer. that was in 2004. ever since then I avoid cured meat like the plague.
This was during an Organic Synthesis course in which you study a bazillion named reactions and track every single electron ( I remember Diels Alder, just the name. I passed though!)
You said “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”
I never really understood what my professor was talking about. It sounded like he was saying aspartame + nitrite converts to nitrosamine, to distill it down to my basic humble understanding. So when you say “in the absence of a nitrosamine precursor” im not sure what that means.
Diet coke and other diet drinks are way more carcinogenic than bacon will ever be
What he meant might be along the lines of this:
1. Certain sweeteners may form small amounts of amines via acid hydrolysis, or other reactions (e.g. cyclamate sweeteners > cyclohexylamine), which would constitute “co-administration of a carcinogenic-nitrosamine precursor.”
2. Under the acidic conditions found in the stomach any amines thus formed may react with the nitrites found in cured meats.
3. The products of such reactions may include carcinogenic nitrosamine compounds.
It is probably worth mentioning that cured meats, (as well as other foods such as fish), can themselves contain amines… so the necessary precursors to nitrosamines are all present. As to whether or not these reactions actually take place in the human stomach, or if any formed nitroso-compounds would be present in quantities sufficient to be of concern, I have no idea. That’s my best guess as to what your chemistry prof. was saying anyhow…
They take place at the kind of temperatures you cook bacon at.
I liked the confirmation about the nitrates also neing naturally contained in celery. This concurs with information from my local meat processor. However, near the end of the article you decided to throw in a comment on tricinosis. I recently had opportunity to be in the company of the President of the Michigan Pork Board who pointed out that the recommendation to fully cook pork has been recinded as there is no longer a concern about triconosis in our fresh pork.
You fail to mention the gmo corn based declumping agents and the federally mandated food dyes in all commercial curing salts.
I prefer celery in my bacon, please.
Nitrosamines cause cancer that’s what nitrates and nitrites turn into once inside your body
Nope.
Apologies if this post is redundant. Haven’t read all 900-odd responses.
I agree with many commenters that this author is glibly ignoring the stomach-acid/amine connection in the formation of nitrosamines.
But I’ll continue to enjoy my celery-cured ‘natural’ bacon, thank you. I insist on the ‘natural’, tho’, not in any way due to the nitrite levels, but because of the absence of junk sodium, phosphate particularly.
The recent WHO study is likely valid, tho’ they perforce paint with a very wide brush. The urgent point, tho’, is not the STAT SIGNIFICANCE of the colorectal cancer connection on huge sample sizes, but rather the MAGNITUDE of the relative risk, which at the mean is I believe something on the order of the 1.1, ie plus 10%, and linearity flatlines at a fairly low dose.
Cook your own food, supplement with Vit C, eat lotsa fresh veggies and pulses, and spice it with high-end preserved meat like celery bacon and grass-fed venison sausage to taste. That already marginal 10% risk will then not apply to you.
Some of the information here seems a bit misleading. Yes, saliva can contain high nitrite levels, but isn’t that largely determined by nitrate intake? You can’t produce nitrogen compounds in the body, it has to be taken in. And vegetables, according to what I read do not contain high nitrites, rather possibly high nitrates. And much of this comes from chemical fertilizer. So the high levels of nitrates in many vegetables are not necessarily ‘natural’ in origin. Organically grown foods will typically have less nitrates, according to what I have read. Besides, I can’t argue with reality. My wife has an atrocious reaction to added nitrites. But she also seems to get the same reaction to a lesser degree if she consumes too many veggies high in nitrates. This no doubt because nitrates are indeed converted to nitrites in the mouth and digestive tract.
also, it’s not natural for meat to have the high nitrites in it,so then we add them, and then they can chem. react with the amines and turn into nitrosamines. those are the potential carcinogens.
we need natural,veg. sources of nitrites. not unnaturally elevated by chemical fertilizer, and not from run-off contaminated water. also, veg, tend to have antioxidants, like vit. c, that inhibit these reactions. cooking at lower temp. (below 400*F,easy to do.) apparently lessens amine production too.
Nitrite and nitrates are what they are regardless of whether they come from commercial fertilizer or animal manure. Beans are legumes and produce their own nitrates with nodules on their roots which nitrogen fixing bacteria attach to.
I’m open to the possibility that “a nitrite is a nitrite”, but when I learned that there’s a literal, chemical difference between natural vitamins and the synthetics that industry passes off (with FDA approval) as “close enough”…? That’s when I stopped taking things like that for granted. Folate/folic acid, “vitamin A”… The lot of them for all I know.
Yeah, wow, us women are such sluts, hey. Cheers John, very helpful and relevant.
You linked to Perfect Health Diet’s article on pork consumption. Do you support the ideas contained in that article? They made a good case for why pork should be thoroughly cooked (viruses can be passed easily between humans and pigs) but they were also suggesting a link between pork consumption and MS. Maybe there are some viral associations with MS, but there are numerous possible sources…including vaccines.