Meats cured with nitrates (hot dogs, deli meats, ham, bacon, etc.) are widely considered to be “bad for your health” by most medical authorities.
However, leafy green vegetables, such as kale, spinach, broccoli, & cabbage, on average have similar, or even higher concentrations of nitrates in them. Leafy green vegetables, in contrast, are widely considered to be “good for your health” by the same medical authorities.
On average, hot dogs contains between 10 – 50 mg of nitrate per 100g, while 100g of kale contains 25 – 40 mg of nitrate.
Why is there such a concern about the nitrate concentrations in cured meats, when leafy green vegetables have similar concentrations of nitrates?
In: Biology
Nitrates and nitrites are not the issue in themselves, it’s the molecule they break down into as part of the digestive process. Nitrates in vegetables start getting broken down by your saliva and becomes nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide dilates blood vessels, which in turn can lower blood pressure.
When sodium nitrite reacts with degraded amino acids produced during the digestion of proteins, it forms N-nitroso compounds (NOCs). These NOCs have been shown to cause cancer.
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