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
Who said nitrates are bad for you?
Maybe the added nitrates are a problem, as they are typically added with a bunch of salt, but getting a meat to vegetable levels isn’t very tasty.
There is a problem with nitrosamines, which nitrates can be turned into with high heat cooking. Someone with the idea that vegetables aren’t cooked at high heat needs to check their cuisine. Cooking a slice of country ham at high heat isn’t a good idea, for many reasons, and nitrosamines are one of them. So, don’t do that.
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