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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http://hrparkinsons.com/new-research-nitrates-and-nitrites-may-cause-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-diabetes-and-parkinson-disease/
There is still a lot of folks claiming research showing nitrates and nitrites to be harmful. As yummy as bacon is, I’m still not comfortable eating it.
when i worked at farmland foods making bacon and hams and such this came up about the nitrites the fact is that you must consume over 5000 pounds a day for it to be of any harm please show me facts to pro or con this
“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.”
You don’t site nor link to your source. I think you are doing the pork industry a favor and those of us who want the truth will be looking elsewhere.
Bacon tastes wonderful. I think they’re lying to you and us. If it means that much to you, go ahead and chow down. You don’t need to justify your diet to me or anybody: but do you want you’re kids eating consensus poison.? A lot more information is available, and non of the trustworthy stuff comes from the industries that profit by the use of nitrates to preserve their food.
So what about the link between processed meat and cancer, as Jackie mentioned above and which seems to be established by research? I am the first to doubt medical, “peer-reviewed” research because it is so biased by the medical and pharmaceutical industry’s interests. But surely we shouldn’t have a blanket-pass attitude toward processed, conventional meat. Are there no distinctions between naturally occurring nitrates and industrially produced ones?
You’re forgetting one very serious thing: the nitrates/nitrites being used to cure most meat are made industrially, not mined naturally as they once were. If you look at the processing used to create sodium nitrate, you might change your tune.
This is much the same as saying that not all trans fats are bad for you. It’s been clearly shown that naturally occurring trans fats are perfectly harmless. However, these are much different from the trans fats created from the hydrogenation process.
And one more example: High Fructose Corn Syrup.
While HFCS may look just like regular sugar, chemically speaking, the fact is that the processing of it leaves behind not only a great deal of unbound fructose, but numerous heavy metals from the industrial processing.
On reading ‘j’s comment today about migraine, yesterday I had some sinful but delicious bacon for my supper. I spent the evening with a migraine aura geting in the way of my TV screen and have only just realised that the bacon was probably the cause (I’m fortunate that an aura has never turned into a severe headache but I obviously ought to take care). Bacon is the only red meat I usually eat and I’m sure I can survive without it!
Chris,
I respect your work, but having just researched the topic of nitrates, nitrites and N-nitroso compounds for an article on my own family food blog, I must say that I think you are right about the fact that nitrates and nitrites may not be harmful, but wrong to say that this means we don’t need to fear processed meat.
Whilst it is certainly true that the studies do not show that nitrates or nitrites per se are harmful, particularly those from vegetable sources and it is also true that the methodology of many of the studies could be improved, there a great many studies have found an association between processed meat and digestive cancers (Hernandez-Ramirez, 2009; Knekt, 1999 Larsson, 2006; Loh, 2011 to name a few). The most promising line of enquiry appears to be a particular n-nitroso compound, NDMA which is present in processed meat, beer and various other foods.
So, whilst it may be true that meat cured with celery is no better than conventionally-cured meat and it may also be true that nitrates/nitrites are not the problem, or at least not nitrates/nitrites per se, I don’t think it is wise to suggest that bacon is healthy after all.
Incidentally, what you might want to be telling your readers is what will likely protect them against the effects of N-nitroso compounds in the diet; antioxidants like Vitamin C, E, beta-carotene and polyphenols, which modify the nitrosation process and thus have a protective effect, even when they are consumed alongside nitrate in vegetables (Kim, 2007; Hernandez-Ramirez, 2009).
Personally, if I was you, I would pull this article and do some more research. An expert, 20-page review from the same year as this article, whilst only looking at stomach cancer and also questioning the methodology of many of the studies, concluded that future studies should look further into other factors known to impact this area, such as Vitamin C intake, emphasizing that whilst not conclusive, the strongest data suggests that salt and salted foods as risk factors and fruits and vegetables as protective (Bryan NS, 2012).
This issue is just another example of why I take everything I read about nutrition with a grain of salt. One minute something is going to kill us and the next minute it’s OK. I am one of these people who reads about clean eating. I avoid preservatives, processed foods, refined flours and sugars, try to eat organic as much as possible, choose non-GMO products whenever they are availble — all that good stuff. Just bought the book Practical Paleo and within a few pages I saw what seems like a contradiction. First I read no dairy and a few pages later it says choose full fat dairy. Some say no grains, others say whole unrefined grains. But I am not an expert. I have to depend on research from others. How is someone like me suppose to sort through it all? Sometimes it is just too overwhelming. That being said, I don’t need an excuse to eat bacon. It’s just back on my list now after reading this.
I read this post and comments (well, most of them!)!after eating some delicious garlic salami made by a small producer in South Australia. If I buy some commercial brands, they just have too many added preservatives and I get asthma (there are a few others that are ok). But some good quality meat from a smaller farm makes for a delicious salami. Got it from a specialist salami vendor at a farmer’s market near me – I look forward to trying more of his products, in moderate-sized quantities, over time.
I guess to cant agree with this reasoning after watching Dr. Oz today.
Bacon is the bomb… I LOVE bacon!
Nitrates and nitrites along do not contribute to the formation of carcinogens; this requires the presence of amines, along with the nitrates/nitrites. Bacon, along with any type of processed meat, contains both of these compounds, and is associated with increased risk of colon cancer. Consumers must be informed on the science, not opinions of people endorsing the “paleo diet”. Here’s a great resource:
http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/ard/documents/ard-ehp-16.pdf
I think it’s tragic that the Paleo Diet is being linked with the promotion of bacon eating. When I read Loren Cordain’s book, The Paleo Diet, what I took from it was that it’s important to eat some lean, red meat; plenty of fish; LOTS of vegetables; some fruit; some nuts; some eggs and some healthy fats. I do not remember his saying, “Load up on bacon and processed deli meats!!”
On lettuce, et al, containing more nitrites than bacon – I believe that vegetables contain nitrAtes – not altogether the same as nitrites. If memory serves me, much of that comes from the chemical fertilizers used on the crops. The amount of nitrates in vegetable varies considerably due to the amount of fertilizer used and the amount the plant will take up. Bacteria in the gut can convert dietary nitrates to nitrites.
For what its worth.
Why are you guys taking health and nutrition advice from an acupuncturist? Talk about myths, there is no clinical, peer reviewed evidence that acupuncture is anything other than a placebo effect. It’s right up there with chiropractic and faith healing.
As for this article, (followed by a discussion on grass-fed pork, for some odd reason) it fails to explain that nitrates, which turn into nitrites, are dangerous in the absence of certain classes of phytonutrients that prevent the formation of nitrosamines. Vitamin C can do this, which is why they now add ascorbic acid to hot dogs.
Here’s a link to some medical information: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-nitrates-pollutants-or-nutrients/
A naff and undergraduate argument there Jason.
Chris isn’t relating bacon and acupuncture here, (disclaimer: Acupuncture doesn’t work on me as I don’t believe in it – but that may be as much a placebo effect as that experienced by those who DO believe in it – and I’d love to snap the neck of every chiro out there as they do REAL damage – and have done so to me) he’s simply writing an astoundingly well research article based on a lot of good, scientific work done by ‘conventional’ scientists. There were no hippes chanting over a packet of bacon to ‘divine’ the truth about nitrates and nitrites, just a good functional medicine practitioner who knows his stuff, but is never arrogant enough to say it, nor idiotic enough to write a piece without looking at a boatload of data and science.
Not only does Dr. Greger have the worst voice on the internet, but he is also the most biased nutrition advisor out there. He cherry picks his science, often relying on old, disproven studies. Recently he tried to say eggs were bad because a judge ruled against them. I believe the case he referred to and failed to quote from was in the early seventies and proved nothing, only his belief.. Whenever I challenge his claims — and I do so civilly — he deletes them. Please don’t bother posting his crap here. Find some real science.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/eggs-and-cholesterol-patently-false-and-misleading-claims/
Really? I’ve seen a lot of his stuff but railing against EGGS? One of the most complete, benign AND CHEAP (or cheep – sorry) mega-foods out there? I’m going to go find that piece now!
cheers, BW
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/bacon-and-botulism/
Nitrates and nitrites are fine. What you should be worried about is nitrosamines, a group of carcinogens which occur when food containing amines are heated with foods containing nitrites. The most significant one to keep away from is ham and cheese, in which the nitrites from the curing process of the ham react with naturally-occurring amines in the cheese, creating dialkyl nitrosamine. This is converted by a family of enzymes in your body, Cytochrome P450, into alkyl hydroxyl nitrosamine. So far, studies have shown that nitrosamine content is still very low, less than 1 ug/kg, even for meats cured with high concentrations of nitrites, added amines and very high processing temperatures. In meats with a commercial amount of added nitrosamines (100-200 mg/kg), it is almost undetectable. I guess the moral of the story is, everything in moderation. Large amounts of red meat cause cancer in many more significant methods than through the small amount of carcinogens introduced by nitrites. Keep your diet balanced and you’ll be fine.
Daniel, you wrote, “Large amounts of red meat cause cancer…” Where does this come from? What’s “large amounts”? What’s “moderation”?
Here is why nitrates in conventionally prepared meats are so bad for you.
Most all conventional nitrate cures in the U.S. Have toxic artificial food coloring. Look up curing salt and you will see that it is pink in color. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_salt. This is due to the artificial toxic food coloring. Artificial food colors pose such a health danger than many European countries have banned them. If an entire country bans something for health reasons we should be wary of it.
I agree that meat cured with a natural nitrate with no artificial colors added would probably be fine.
I Must add in that the bacon which we consume and that is smoked as well, is smoked only with Hickory wood and is not smoked with added chemicals
I have a question about bacon and Nitrates and would greatly appreciate any opinion or answers.
First of all, I am a Candida sufferer, so my diet is very strict of NO sugars and I do my best for NO Carbs.
Secondly, I buy my pork from a local farmer here in rural NH. All the pork is natural and the bacon is only cured by smoke and smoke alone! Can anyone tell me if there is any issue with nitrates with the pork I am consuming? Especially the bacon? Thank you so very much in advance!
Well, wood smoke will contain nitrates in the ash that is naturally part of the smoke.
I concur with Colin. When it comes to bacon, you get a double whammy in the form of smoke via sodium nitrate plus significant levels of saturated fat and cholesterol. Anyone who believes that bacon is healthy, needs to spare the taxpayer the cost of replacing your heart valves and just kill yourself.
Ilya
If you really fancy some bacon as a treat, there’s plenty of un-smoked available on the shelves.
“…plus significant levels of saturated fat and cholesterol…”
Who ARE these people commenting on this thread? If you’re so abysmally, daftheadedly behind the times, what are you doing on Chris Kresser’s site in the first place? Grab a bowl of Cheerios (they’re ‘fortified’ y’know) and go back to Fox News or the Dr. Oz page for God’s sake.
Saturated fat is an essential (ESSENTIAL*) nutrient, and its link to heart disease began with the fraudster Ancel Keys who doctored his epidemiological study to show only the results he liked.
As for cholesterol, where have you been? Dietary cholesterol as a CAUSE of high cholesterol was debunked (even in mainstream newspapers like The Guardian and The Independent) a decade ago.
I eat bacon, eggs, kale, spinach and any other greens I can find (cooked in coconut oil) for breakfast almost every day – and my cholesterol is not only great, it’s better than it’s ever been.
*Speaking of ‘essential nutrients’ it’s interesting that there’s no such thing as an ‘essential carbohydrate’. 😉