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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While nitrates or nitrites may not be harmful, from what I’ve read the primary risk of ingesting these compounds is formation of nitrosamine, which is known to be carcinogenic, in reaction with secondary amines in the body. What is your take on this?
What’s your take on Richard Weller’s TEDxGlasgow presentation referencing sunlight exposure releasing NO (nitric oxide) from the body’s store of NO3 (nitrates) and NO2 (nitrites) as it might relate to the safety of ingestion of nitrates / nitrites in the first instance? Diet seems to be where Richard thinks the NO2 and NO3 come from in the first instance and thus perhaps these elements are actually critical for health as opposed to harmful. Thanks!
I started reading this while researching the Paleo diet. I think the basic difference is the amount of ANYTHING you consume. When people were raising and processing their own meat, the bacon was only a very small part of the total amount of pork consumed. I know that when my folks were growing our own pork, that bacon NEVER lasted anything like long enough! When you had to buy meat from the local butcher, you were more concerned with cheaper cuts or with larger cuts that more leftovers could be obtained. Bacon in either case was a treat. Anything you eat to excess isnt good for you, even health promoting items. Enjoy your bacon! Or dont. Eat in moderation, or avoid it. You be certain in what you choose and let the other guy be certain too. This simply doesnt appear to be a last stand issue.
I’ve been on the fence about this topic for ever…I think you make a good case.
The thing is…have you ever tried just sea-salt brined and hickory smoked “bacon”?? it’s awesome!! we can’t keep it in stock…our customers LOVE it the way it is!
I would consider using nitrates, but I actually might not get a very good reaction from my customers now!
Very interesting I got from an article!!! Very well explained
….
What about those nitrosamines? When meat containing nitrites is heated (particularly at high temperatures), the result is nitrosamines, compounds that have been linked with health issues such as gastric cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Additionally, this week the Archives of Internal Medicine published the results of a study that assessed the connection between types of meat consumption with mortality rate. Although the study leaves open many other avenues for explanation (more processed meat intake trends with lower produce consumption), the research offers one more suggestion against regular intake of conventional processed meat. (Check back tomorrow for a full critique of the latest red meat scare.)
While it’s true the studies/reviews vary in rigor, magnitude and date, the preponderance of research on the subject (including and beyond these studies) suggests that sodium nitrite is best avoided. Of course, we’re not suggesting anyone devote a significant part of their diet to cold cuts or other processed meats, but we’ll admit we loves ourselves some bacon. Easy rule of thumb: go nitrite-free. (And especially because these kinds of meats tend to be higher in fat – primary storage for toxins, we’d also recommend going organic or as close as possible to it.)
Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sodium-nitrite-meat/#ixzz2ILGvHB71
Although I understand the reasoning for the safety of nitrates for me this falls outside of my definition of real food and will try to minimize consumption.
In “Wheat Belly,” William Davis says that bacon and other cured meats contain a lot of AGEs, advanced glycation end products, the result of glucose bonding with proteins, and that these cannot be removed from our bodies once they enter it. AGEs he says are the chief cause of aging, the deterioration of the intracelluar space through the congestion of inert useless matter, in such things as kidney failure, cataracts, athrosclerosis and on and on.
I’ve seen very little evidence that exogenous AGEs have the same harmful effects as endogenously produced AGEs.
Yes, I would tend to think that they would be broken down by our digestive tract. I only posted that information because I am currently reading Wheat Belly and reached that point in the book at the same time as a link to this page arrived. At any rate, it’s time for breakfast here in Northern California: bacon and eggs!
Hi Chris!
I’m reading Wheat Belly too and I was a bit alarmed about the exogenous AGE comment as well. He mentions that foods that are cooked longer are also much higher in AGE’s. I wonder if this applies if foods are cooked at lower temperature…do you know if that makes a difference? I’d think it would, but that distinction wasn’t made. He separately mentions that high-heat cooking produces lots of AGE’s.
Also, do you know if all meats, cheeses and cured meats are higher in exogenous AGE’s or if pastured meats have less?
Thank you!!
Nitrates form nitrosamines in the stomach. Very bad. That was not addressed in this article.
From personal experience, I cannot eat a nitrate or nitrite without “what I call” the worst Meniere’s attack in the world. For those that don’t know what Meniere’s is – it’s an inner ear disorder – and it’s painful. As a matter of fact, Chris, with respect to your article, my pain is so bad I won’t go near anything with synthetic chemical nitrate, nitrite. I can however eat, organic bacon with no nitrates, nitrites and any other products not containing the “man made stuff.” I’ve even been subjected to coconut flakes, coconut macaroons filled with these preservatives at social functions. This “allergic” reaction is so painful to my ears… I have no problem substituting with beet, and such which occur naturally. Even a blind test, a muscle response test, and molecular structure examination of chemically derived nitrates, nitrites all scientifically point to natural being best. I’m also wondering why your so eager to support the commercial consumer world, with such flimsy suggestions and probabilities of chemically derived nitrates, and nitries being helpful. I’m more disappointed, in this article for it’s poor support, poor suggestions, and bias writing. humm – Victoria
This article is misleading and frequently confuses nitrates (naturally occuring) with sodium nitrite, a synthetic additive. It also does not take into account the superbugs that have contaminated most of the pork in this country from the CAFO operations, rendering all pork products extremely dangerous to eat, even when overcooked, which in itself is a problem for human health, due to the browning effect and the resultant toxins. High heat and “welldone” bacon is dangerous to health and even medium heat and welldone bacon (crispy, dark) is loaded with nitrosamines (sp) a known carcinogen (bacon fat and drippings are even more loaded). Pastured, organically, humanely fed and grown pork is safe to eat when not overcooked. The bacon from such humanely raised pork is safe even with the synthetic sodium nitrite added, though I prefer not to put synthetics in my body at all and I do have a negative reaction when I ingest any sodium nitrite. Also, it does not affect nor prevent the superbugs in 99% of supermarket pork and cured bacon from infecting humans.
At post 50, I have developed various food intolerances, including not being able to eat bacon, ham and cold meats without getting migraines. A medical allergy specialist, has diagnosed that I cannot take nitrate compounds found in cold meats and oaked wine. I don’t think I’m unique in my reactions, so there are probably quite a reasonable number of people who’d appreciate nitrate and nitrite free bacon, ham and other such products.
Don’t confuse nitrates with the synthetic sodium nitrite, which does cause problems for many people, myself included. Nitrates are present in great quantities in many vegetables as is arsenic and other minerals, naturally occuring, and don’t pose a health risk for that reason alone. However, the water supply is so loaded with pesticides, drug residue, bromine, fluoride and chlorine, we don’t know how the accumulative effect in vegetables may affect health. Dr. Mercola says that lettuces grown, even organically in Yuma AZ and So Cal, are watered from the lower Colorado river and are so contaminated with the above chemicals that they may be a critical reason for the epidemic of thyroid disorders due to those chemicals known to be blockers of iodine uptake.
Is this “Dr” a lobbyist for the CAFO pork producers? He sure is not accurate.
PS re wine-could be the sulfur used as a preservative that causes your problems, or maybe you have developed a fructose intolerance as well. Check for gluten sensitivity also. I found switching to faro and coconut flour solved a lot of my problems, as well as filtering my water, eating as organically as possible, and upping my probiotics and Vit D, magnesium, K2.
hmmm I think this whole PUFA thing, that they are bad is getting out of hand! Only in America they think this, I think it started in California and spread to the rest of the nation unquestioned, while I do beleive cholesterol is good for making hormones, I dont think eating heaps of bacon and butter is not good either. You know people that own Ice cream companies still die of heart attacks early. People owning chocolate factories as well die early of heart attacks, farmers eating bacon and eggs everyday die of heart attacks too!
Unfortunately, many companies that sell meat are now using celery juice and celery root powder (and other powders that are plant-sourced such as chard and others) for a “nitrate” effect in the meat. Although these seem natural because they are from plants, they are anything but natural because the glutamate (an amino acid) is taken from the source and compounded in the laboratory – without its naturally occurring co-factors, enzymes, etc. and much more of this substance is its isolated form than would be found in nature is used in the meat. They are even more dangerous than the synthetic nitrates, which are produced in a laboratory setting.
The result is that free-glutamates in the body excite neurotransmitters in the brain. This causes the death of brain cells. Dr. Russell Blaylock talks about this in his book, Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills. Free glutamates are anything but natural and they react in the body much differently than if you were going to consume celery or chard. But whether nitrates are synthetic or “naturally sourced” from plants like celery or chard, they are still excitotoxins.
Here is the post I wrote about the issues with celery root and celery juice powders:
http://agriculturesociety.com/healthy-living/deceptions-in-the-food-industry-applegate-organic-natural-meats/
It is difficult to find naturally cured bacon and other meats, but with the rising awareness of the many deceptions of the food industry, more producers are finding ways to naturally cure meats as our ancestors have done for thousands and thousands of years – with sugar and salt.
Chris, do you know of any pork producers who raise their animals naturally and cure using traditional methods, i.e. hand rubbed with nitrite salt mixture and wood-smoked? Everywhere I look, bacon producers are using that infernal celery powder/juice for curing. Surely there are still some hold-outs that didn’t buy into the “natural” celery hype… I’ll even buy my bacon online if I have to.
Bought some chorizo from Fat Alberts Smokehouse in Fairlie, New Zealand. It was GF and they said it was nitrate-free. It keeps for a few days without refrigeration when opened too. I’ll send them an email asking if they used celery juice or anything and hopefully remember to get back to this site. If anyone else wants to ask, their email address is : info(at)fatalbertsmokehouse(dot)co(dot)nz
They do a range of processed meats and smoked salmon.
You are confusing nitrate with nitrite. Sodium nitrite is a synthetic and most processors use it. The USDA requires ascorbic acid (Vit C) to be added when sodium nitrite is used to prevent formation of the carcinogen nitrosamine(sp). Sodium nitrite is not a “traditional” method.
In Colorado, we have a number of farmers who pasture their pigs, use heirloom breeds, feed them table scraps, apples, milk from the goats and cows, whey, eggs, vegetables and whatever they root up for themselves. The processors (butchers) use sodium nitrite, water and sodium chloride (table salt) to cure the bacon and give it a longer shelf life. It gives a characteristic taste but is not “traditional” curing or taste.
Consequently, I do not eat the bacon, as I consider both the nitrite and the chloride sodiums to be synthetic poisons. If I could get just the pork belly, I would brine it myself using sea salt, kosher salt, honey, and smoke it with applewood, then slice it thick.
Celery juice and beet juice gives the taste similarity to the nitrite cured bacon.
Pork belly is not that hard to come by, and making your own bacon is a great option to get around all of this back and forth about nitrites and nitrates. Sam’s club has an electric smoker for around $300 that can be set to maintain temperature after a relatively short period of smoke for as long as you like. (I usually smoke pork ribs for 10 hours.) $300 may seem like a lot, but you can smoke many other things and smoke them at very low temperatures, <200. I personally would not brine pork belly, I would use a dry rub of carefully sourced spices to avoid soy protein fillers, no honey. I would then eat it like bacon or have it Asian style with a semi-sweet, sticky dark barbecue sauce.
Cathy, try Nueske’s. it is applewood smoked for 24 hours with real Wisconsin apple wood only. They get their pork from a group of family owned farms in Canada. Terrific product. They have the lowest amount of nitrate the USDA allows. They also make a cherrywood smoke that is an uncured bacon.
Enjoy!
Hi Chris,
I read a recent study about beetroot juice was good for sports and increased capacity by approximately 15%. Supposedly, this is because of the nitrate in the vegatable. So I was wondering if chewing a gum, which i assume activates salivar release to the gut as you swallow, would improve performance also?
Perhaps a dumb question, but I thought I’d ask.
Regards/Edward
“When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites.” Isn’t this because fertilizers contain lots of nitrites? Wouldn’t organic or wild vegetables contain far fewer nitrites?
Again, confusion between nitrates (naturally occurring in vegetables) and nitrites, which are formed from nitrates, either naturally in the body or by ingestion of the synthetic sodium nitrite. I don’t know that fertilizers contain nitrites or that nitrites are present in leafy green vegetables in addition to the natural nitrates. I do know that in farmed areas watered by the lower CO river, such as Yuma, AZ and So Cal, the pesticides, drug residues, chlorine, chloramine, fluoride and bromine concentrations in the water end up in the lettuces particularly, even in organically grown farms, so if nitrites are part of fertilizers, then they would end up in the water supply to many farms and therefore in all vegetables so watered, wild organic or not. Something to test and research…..
Here’s an (unproven) hypothesis about why nitrates and nitrites can indeed promote health, but bacon may not :
The problem has never been nitrates or nitrites per se, but (probably) nitrosamines, either in foods or formed in the body (“endogenously”) after consumption of certain foods, or in the absence of certain inhibitors of nitrosamine formation.
Key inhibitors we know of are Vitamins C and E and pectin*. All are present in large quantities in fruit and veg, but Vit C and pectin are absent (or negligible) in meat.
Hence eating fruit and veg is an appropriately evolutionary way of taking “the poison and the antidote” together, with resulting cardiovascular benefits.
But (certainly) eating cured meats is not an evolutionary way of doing the same. So even though producers are required by US law to add Vitamin C to them in order to minimize nitrosamine formation, there may (possibly) be health risks.
Note also that the form of vitamin C often added to cured meats is erythorbic acid, a cheaper substitute for ascorbic acid ( http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/f-w00/nitrosamine.html ) It’s worth considering whether this may have less healthful consequences than nature’s way of packaging and “processing” amines, nitrates and nitrites, though I know of no specific evidence for this.
* http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2669451/
“Based on our estimates, total dietary nitrate intake per serving is most heavily influenced by vegetable consumption, specifically the green leafy varieties. However, nitrate intake in conjunction with vitamin C and possibly vitamin E may inhibit endogenous nitrosamine formation [31]. Fruits and vegetables are sources of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, including pectin. Wawrzyniak found that pectin rich diets increase the total number of Enterobacteriaceae in the stomach of rats, which is associated with the reduction of nitrates to nitrites, but also noted that pectin was responsible for decreasing the amount of sodium nitrite present under normal gastric conditions in vitro [32,33]. The benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption with their vitamin content most likely negate the potential harmful effects of nitrate intake from these sources. Our estimates indicate that nitrites and nitrosamines are most commonly associated with the consumption of meats, processed meats and fish. Based on our results, beer had the largest estimated amount of nitrosamine per serving.”
From the same paper (note the last sentence particularly):
“Nitrate values ranged from 0 – 188.999 mg/serving with the highest concentrations occurring in vegetable products. Spinach and squash contain the highest amounts of nitrate per serving with values of 188.999 and 43.608 mg respectively. Sweets, nuts, fats and oils contain very little nitrates per serving.
Nitrite values range from 0 – 1.840 mg/serving with the highest concentrations occurring in meat and bean products. Beef, pork, lamb, or cabrito (goat meat) as a main dish and liver contain the highest amounts of dietary nitrite per serving with 1.840 and 1.608 mg respectively. Negligible sources of dietary nitrite are found in cottage cheese, fats such as butter or margarine, and various fruit juices.
Nitrosamine values from food items ranged from 0 – 0.453 μg/serving with the highest concentrations occurring in meat and dairy products. Beef, pork, lamb, or cabrito as a sandwich or main dish contains 0.324 and 0.453 μg/serving. Cottage or ricotta cheese, fish and bacon contain high levels of nitrosamines with 0.266, 0.222 and 0.219 μg/serving respectively. Alcoholic beverages also contain high levels of nitrosamines, with beer and malt beverages containing the highest amount of nitrosamines per serving at 0.531 μg and 0.301 μg respectively. Wine and liquor contain relatively little nitrosamines per serving with values of 0.019 and 0.027 μg respectively. Fruits, vegetables, sweets, and fats do not contain significant amounts of nitrosamines per serving.”
I can’t make out whether the paper you cite adequately rules out this hypothesis, since bacon both contains high levels of nitrosamines and is itself implicated in endogenous nitrosamine formation, surely?
Personally, I remain to be convinced that a meat product unavailable in nature, processed by a method apparently dating back only 3500 years ( http://gothamist.com/2007/11/01/fun_facts_about.php ), is sufficiently in keeping with human evolutionary development to be likely to promote my health.
That’s why I’ll be keeping up my celery consumption while leaving processed meats at the deli counter.
(Of course, I’ll probably die from pesticides. Or worry.)
But I also realise nothing, but nothing, will ever persuade arvinophiles to do likewise.
Wishing you (and them) lifelong health, naturally
Ivor
Check limitations of your references, and also look that water contain the higher source of nitrosamines in human diet(that is why beer contain so high lvl).
So did you say in your article the “reason” it is added to begin with? Perhaps I missed that. It may be true there are nitrates found in vegetables. Did you say these nitrates/nitrites are the same as those artificially manufactured? Who is making a profit on the addition of nitrates/nitrates to meat? When did the practice start?
So many questions—-
Would bacon be bacon without them…?
Does anyone know what commerical used potassium nitrate is made from? I ask because I can’t immediately square the supposed healthy benefits of any nitrate containing product and the assertion that nitrate free meat contains just as much nitrate (from a different source) as meat with nitrate listed on the ingredient label, with my personal experience. In short, if I eat meat that lists nitrate on the label, I feel mildly sick and deenergized for about three days. If I eat “nitrate-free” meat, I feel fine. If I eat beets or celery I feel fine. ASssuming this article is correct, what is it that is in commercially used “potassium nitrate” besides the potassium nitrate that makes me feel bad when I eat it?
The nitrates used to cure pork are chemically identical to the”uncured” so called natural nitrates. The “uncured” bacon actually has 3 -5 times more nitrates than traditionally cured bacon because these nitrates come from celery, either the juice or a powdered extract. The so called sodium nitrate used in traditionally made bacon is derived from salt, another natural substance. Wow! So nitrates is naturally occurring!
Here is another News Flash! USDA mandates the use of sodium nitrate in real cured smoked bacon both because it is the most stable, clean nitrate and it prohibits botulism.
As they say “IDENTICAL!’
Can you debunk the info that the FDA allows pink dye in artificial nitrites? Because artificial dye is the most evil substance for my kids, so until you deny that, artificial nitrites will not be entertained.
And if they are allowed, you should not be playing down the danger.