Why nitrates are bad for you

In addition to lunchmeat, some canned beans and vegetables with bacon, and even packaged seafood, may contain these added chemicals. Eat organic food. Synthetic nitrates and nitrites are not allowed as preservatives in organic packaged foods and meats. Find out if your water is tainted with nitrates or nitrites. Public drinking water utilities test for these compounds and must disclose their results.

If you drink well water, your local health department can help you find out if this is a problem in your area.

You can also have your water tested by a laboratory. If the chemicals are present, consider treating your water with a home water distiller, a reverse osmosis filter or an ion exchange filter to remove any fertilizer nitrates in the groundwater. Eat a diet high in antioxidants.

Vitamin C and certain other vitamins can reduce the conversion of nitrates and nitrites to nitrosamines. About Contact Us. Learn more Got It. Most recent. New Species of Whale Discovered whales. Solar Energy. Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.

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This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. See more conditions. Request Appointment. Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition and healthy eating. Products and services. Does the sodium nitrate in processed meat increase my risk of heart disease? Answer From Katherine Zeratsky, R. With Katherine Zeratsky, R. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Micha R, et al. Red and processed meat consumption and risk of incident coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sinha R, et al. Meat intake and mortality: A prospective study of over half a million people.

Meat manufacturers now add the antioxidant ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, to their products, which promotes the formation of relatively harmless nitric oxide and counteracts the development of the possibly cancer-causing nitrosamines.

If all nitrites were to form nitric oxide in the body, Bryan said, "there's no concern whatsoever. Despite the growing indications that nitrite is safe for most people, don't pull out the celebratory pepperoni just yet. One possible explanation: "In addition to nitrate and nitrite, it is possible that there are other components of processed meats that are responsible for the associations observed with colorectal cancer.

Bacon is one food that Bryan agrees is a potential health risk. Bacon is especially high in nitrite and can form nitrosamines when fried at high temperatures. To avoid this hazard, Bryan recommends cooking bacon slowly and at a low temperature. Pass it on: Evidence is mounting that nitrite preservatives are safe, but that doesn't mean processed meats are healthy.

Food Facts explores the weird world of the chemicals and nutrients found in our food, and appears on MyHealthNewsDaily on Fridays. Live Science.