Nitrates & nitrites - harmless, maybe good for you?

[undergroundrr]

My wife, who's always going after me for eating cheap hot dogs, had second thoughts after reading this -

http://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon

Money quote:

"When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites. On average, about 93% of nitrites we get from food come from vegetables. It may shock you to learn that one serving of arugula, two servings of butter lettuce, and four servings of celery or beets all have more nitrite than 467 hot dogs. (2) And your own saliva has more nitrites than all of them! So before you eliminate cured meats from your diet, you might want to address your celery intake. And try not to swallow so frequently."

 

[donnay]

I think the real concern is when you cook cured meats.

 

[trey4sports]

IIRC Mark Sisson kind of downplayed the dangers of Nitrites FWIW. Granted you may not all be fans of him but i consider him a pretty trustworthy source.

But hot dog ingredients are pretty gross and most hot dogs have nearly as much sugar/HFCS as protein.

 

[jm1776]

More food for thought.

http://healthimpactnews.com/promotion/diet-and-toxins-cause-alzheimers-not-genetics/s/

Rhode Island Hospital researcher Suzanne de la Monte, MD, looks at the link between nitrates and nitrites — found in many food products — and the development of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

 

[FindLiberty]

Another concern...

In order to avoid airport TSA screening headaches - leave your high nitrate / nitrite meat at home 'cause too many sausages will set off their high-tech explosives detection devices.