Nitrates

Joseph Carrera R.H.N.

www.triple3holisticnutrition.com

A catchy title isn’t necessary this time, but that doesn’t mean this topic is any less important. Nitrates are not something most people are aware of, and if they are aware, do they know the kind of harm they may be exposing themselves too? Do they realize how much of this chemical and additive they are consuming?

Do you enjoy cured meats? If the answer is yes, not only are you ingesting them frequently, but be prepared to dislike this author a little less at the end of this article. The old adage holds true, don’t shoot the messenger. Just listen to what that messenger has to say, and you’ll be empowered to make a better choice going forward.

First off, we need to clarify that Nitrates are naturally found in some vegetables and soils. The naturally occurring ones are not of great concern. The worrisome ones are added to foods. Why would a manufacturer add these too food?

For several reasons, the first being to extend shelf-life by stopping the growth of bacteria, and to enhance the colour and flavour of foods. If I’m a manufacturer, I want my product on store shelves as soon as possible and as long as possible, and I want it to catch your eye as you walk past it. As a retailer, I want my shelves full of product to give the appearance of a well stocked store. Their concern is not about what’s in the food, but how an empty spot is perceived by a customer.

Nitrates are added to processed meats such as bacon, ham, deli meats, sausages, etc. They also give processed meats their pink colour. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “My family has been making and curing their own meats for generations, so what’s wrong with that?”

Manufacturers don’t have months and months to do this, and do it naturally. It takes too long, and costs too much. This is an industry of fast turnaround time. But lucky for them, and unlucky for the rest of us, a scientific discovery was made to speed up the process. If good things take time, then label this as a fast mistake.

Near the turn of the 20th century, meat producers made an “important” discovery. When sodium nitrate, interacts with bacteria in meat, it converts to sodium nitrite. Today, just about every manufacturer skips that bacterial conversion and just adds synthetic sodium nitrite directly to cured meats.

There’s the problem! Again, the hand of man decided to intervene with a natural process and again, nothing good came of it. For centuries and centuries, only sea salt was used to cure and preserve food. Has our technology, and lack of common sense made us stupid, lazy, or both? Haven’t we realized by now that natural processes cannot be sped up, duplicated or improved?

At high temperatures, sodium nitrite has also been shown to combine with functional groups that exist in proteins called amines, and form toxic compounds known as nitrosamines. These nitrosamines are carcinogenic compounds believed to increase your risk of pancreatic, stomach and colon cancers, and are something you definitely want to minimize in your body.

Naturally occurring nitrates are part of a normal diet. The nitrates that can lead to certain diseases, are hard to get from plant sources. Another great part of plant-based food sources containing naturally occurring nitrates, is that they also contain Vitamin C, which has been shown to protect the body against the above mentioned diseases.

Here’s a helpful tip. Many manufactures have become wise and have removed the term nitrates from their packaging, and have replaced it with celery extract. Celery extract is a concentrated version of celery juice, that naturally contains high levels of nitrates, which is then mixed with bacterial cultures by people wearing white lab coats and goggles. The problem here lies with it being so concentrated, that it can contain even more harmful levels of nitrates. So, don’t buy anything that says celery extract as a preservative.

Here’s the main take away. Whether you choose to consume nitrates or not is ultimately your call, but at least now you know a little something you didn’t know before. Nothing forced is ever good, but chemical processes especially, should have no place in our food.

I once read something that said, “if your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize it as food, you shouldn’t eat it”

They say knowledge is power, and ignorance is bliss. The side you decide to fall on is your choice, but now that you know, can you really ignore it?