I'd like to hear your views about nitrates that we consume

       I know that I certainly have my views on nitrates in things that we consume.  But for now I'd like to hear what some others have to say on the subject.  They say that in an average diet we get over 70% of our nitrates from vegetables, drinking water accounts for about 21% and 6% in meats.

   There's so much talk about nitrate-free meats, which most of them seem to be cured using celery juice...I just don't quite get it.

  dan

Edited by gonefishin - 3/14/10 at 11:13am

     If I owned any livestock, feed would certainly be one of the first considerations that I would give thought to...along with breed.  I also agree with growing fruits and vegetables with methods that are friendly to the environment.  To me...this just makes good sense.

   But there's a growing number of people who refuse to eat anything with nitrates in it.  This is certainly their choice...but my gosh.  You've got so many other avenues for nitrates (with some conversion) to enter your system is seems odd to address one method of entry (meats) and not many others.

   I would certainly agree with the words...natural in, natural out.  But one of the studies often mentioned when talking about nitrates are it's effects on infants <4months putting them at possible risk for toxicity (Methemoglobinemia).  While many of the studies on adults seemed to be difficult to draw a direct conclusion, the study on infants seemed to be more accepted as a direct cause for toxicity.  Yet the nitrate ingestion was from a natural form, contaminated water in the formula.  

    It seems as though most of our nitrate consumption gets excreted through our urine.  Others are excreted through saliva, though some is supposed to be consumed again.  There is also amounts that normally get converted from nitrates to nitrites in our body's.  I know that your better off safe, than sorry.  But nitrates can get converted to nitrites which can be converted to nitrosamine by natural methods.

   There are people looking for nitrate-free pancetta and bacon.  Is bacon or pancetta even bacon or pancetta if they haven't been cured?  If you don't want to take a chance consuming harmful nitrates in bacon then simply eat some cooked pork belly.  If your going to ignore all the large sources of nitrates, like many vegetables and water.  Then you certainly can't ignore other known sources for nitrosamine like beer, can you?  They say that nitrosamine intake has been reduced from 1 micorggram per/day to 0.1 microgram per/day by using better curing processes.  

   I'm sure I'm butchering the science here...but are a few slices of bacon, or pancetta in your sauce really going to have a significant effect when we're consuming nitrates elsewhere?


   go bacon!


  dan 

  Hi Tuscan Chef,

   Please bear with me here....



    Every study that I've read (including European studies) mention that a persons normal diet would get nitrate levels either 70% coming from vegetables, 20% from water and 6% from cured meats or 90% from vegetables and other sources then 10% from cured meats...or somewhere in between thos two.

   From the reading that I've done any form of nitrate can be converted to nitrite by a few different means, such as certain microorganisms in the food (which can be promoted by improper storage of vegetables) and also the gastrointestinal tract can also convert the nitrates.  Although the acidic enviroment of the adult stomach is said to reduce the chance of nitrates converting into nitrites.

  The problem with cured meats doesn't seem to be nitrates or nitrites as much as nitrosamines (or when nitrosamines form).  Nitrosamines have been linked to causing cancer in some lab animals (but not of yet linked to causing cancer in adults).  Not all cured meats contain nitrosamines, and when they do it's in very minute amounts.  Plus there seems to be other ingredients that have been being used to greatly reduce the chance of nitrites converting to nitrosamines, such as adding ascorbic acid  (vitamin C) or eyrthorbic acid.  These are said to be used for more than the last 20 years.  

   It's also mentioned that the chances formation of nitrosamines  start and increase when cooking at temperatures > 350f. The nitrosamine also increased when bacon was cooked to a well done or burnt.  The bacon drippings from well done and burnt bacon also contained more nitrosamines than the bacon itself.

  Nitrosamines are supposed to occur very rarely in cured meats, except in well done or burnt bacon.  



        dan

     What's the long term effect that you're talking about?  

    Is it the study of nitrate toxicity in infants < 4 months or the study that linked the lab animals to developing cancer when exposed to nitrites?  A study on humans?


  All the articles that I've read (recent or old) usually reference the same material.  The one about the lab animals developing cancer does have other factors involved.  I'd love to read any new studies.  

   dan