The Truth About Nitrates And Nitrites
What's The Big Difference?
Nitrates and nitrites are two distinct types of compounds. Nitrates (NO3) consist of one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Nitrites (NO2) consist of one nitrogen atom and two oxygen atoms.
So Why Does That Matter?
Well, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), classified processed meat as a carcinogen - definitely cancer-causing.
Adding nitrites to meat has been shown to produce known carcinogens such as nitrosamines; the WHO warns that each 50 g (1.8 oz) of processed meat eaten a day would increase the risk of getting bowel cancer by 18% over a lifetime.
Processed meat refers to meat that has been transformed through fermentation, nitrite curing, salting, smoking, or adding chemical preservatives to enhance flavor or improve preservation.
What Meats Exactly Are We Talking About?
Sausages, hot dogs, salami, ham, bacon, salted and cured meats, and yes that includes lunch meat and/or deli meat. Smoked meats, dried meats, jerky, canned meats like chicken and turkey.
Environmental Working Group Had This To Say:
"Research shows there’s a big difference between the nitrates that are added to foods as preservatives and those that occur naturally in produce such as spinach, celery, and beets. The naturally occurring nitrates in food come with vitamin C and other compounds that inhibit conversion into nitrosamines! There is no data to suggest that naturally occurring nitrates are bad, so keep on eating those nutritious foods."
Buyer Beware
That being said if you are still eating meat in this day and age - buyer beware of the many tricks that the meat industry employs like stating that things are "nitrite and nitrate-free" in big letters. What that usually means is that they have added celery powder, celery juice, and or cherry powder. They then add bacteria that convert the nitrates to nitrites! So yes they are in essence adding nitrites!
References -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciBSDjrSqCM
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/how-avoid-added-nitrates-and-nitrites-your-food
