Sodium Nitrite: Another Reason to Avoid Processed Meats
It’s lurking in breakfast meats, lunchboxes and carving stations across the country. Sodium nitrite, that is: preservative and coloring additive extraordinaire. It’s undeniable that we have a penchant for processed foods in this country, and meats are no exception. Bacon, sausages, hot dogs, cold cuts, ham, packaged smoked meats, pates, Slim Jims (everybody’s favorite, right?) – meats many would consider part and parcel of the quintessential American diet. Many of us crave their delectable saltiness and welcome convenience, but are we paying a price for their processing, specifically when sodium nitrite is on the label?
It’s true that companies are increasingly introducing “sodium nitrate-free” products. (We’ve even seen nitrate-free, grass-fed, organic hot dogs out there. Interesting development.) And while we at MDA tend to think “the more natural and unadulterated the meat the better,” some processing techniques and ingredients raise more red flags than others, sodium nitrite being one of those.
So, what exactly is sodium nitrite, and what are its alleged crimes? As mentioned, it’s used in commercial meats as both a color “fixer” and a general preservative. The additive does everything from impeding the formation of botulism to keeping meat smelling and looking “fresh.” The USDA has imposed limits on the amount of sodium nitrite that can be used for processing purposes. Nitrites/Nitrates cannot exceed 200 ppm (parts per million). A “fatal dose” of sodium nitrite has been estimated at “22 to 23 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.” Although this is a hefty dose unreasonable for regular consumption, there’s concern about much smaller amounts of the preservative in infants and younger children because sodium nitrite impacts the how well hemoglobin transports oxygen in the body.
Nitrites, we should say, are related to but not the same as nitrates (PDF), which are present in many vegetables. When we eat nitrates, a small percentage of the nitrates is converted by the body into nitrites. A higher pH level in gastric juices results in more conversion of nitrates to nitrites. (Random note: Infants generally have a higher pH level in their digestive environment, which explains the guideline about limiting their intake of carrots.) Although vegetables constitute a fair amount our nitrite intake (after conversion), vegetables contain antioxidants that reduce the formation of nitrosamines, the real risk of nitrites.
What about those nitrosamines? When meat containing nitrites is heated (particularly at high temperatures), the result is nitrosamines, compounds that have been linked with health issues such as gastric cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Additionally, this week the Archives of Internal Medicine published the results of a study that assessed the connection between types of meat consumption with mortality rate. Although the study leaves open many other avenues for explanation (more processed meat intake trends with lower produce consumption), the research offers one more suggestion against regular intake of conventional processed meat. (Check back tomorrow for a full critique of the latest red meat scare.)
While it’s true the studies/reviews vary in rigor, magnitude and date, the preponderance of research on the subject (including and beyond these studies) suggests that sodium nitrite is best avoided. Of course, we’re not suggesting anyone devote a significant part of their diet to cold cuts or other processed meats, but we’ll admit we loves ourselves some bacon. Easy rule of thumb: go nitrite-free. (And especially because these kinds of meats tend to be higher in fat – primary storage for toxins, we’d also recommend going organic or as close as possible to it.)
There will be times, however, when you aren’t in charge of the menu. If you find yourself at a family brunch emotionally obligated to partake of Aunt Betty’s bacon quiche or an Easter ham, rest assured you can mitigate the damage. Antioxidants, particularly vitamins C and E, inhibit the conversion of sodium nitrate into those nasty nitrosamines. Bacon, for example, generally includes ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or erythorbic acid for this purpose. And while the orange slice garnish on the brunch plate may get you in the right mindset, you’ll need more antioxidant power than that to do the job. Save yourself the sugar shock of a towering glass of O.J. and pop a good supplement before or with brunch instead. Bottoms up!
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the sodium nitrite question. Send ‘em on, and thanks for reading.
Further Reading:
Did Grok Really Eat That Much Meat?
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Posted By: Worker Bee
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I am glad you brought up the difference between nitrates in processed meats and nitrates in vegetables. That is always something that has boggled me. I even considered the possibility that nitrates aren’t quite as bad for us as is pushed.
The SoG
good information. glad to have it cleared up as to the new trend of “nitrite-free” meats…. particularly for my love of bacon
I’m still not sure I buy it. I mean yes, cutting down on processed foods is good and all, but people have been curing meat for a long time…
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/does-banning-hotdogs-and-bacon-make.html
Why do they allow any of these things in our foods at all??
The FDA is so messed up!
Great job putting the spotlight on this nasty ingredient. It’s amazing how hard it is (at least around here – Quebec City) to find nitrite free products. The only option is to go the artisanal route – which is great anyway because of the freshness and high quality of the meat.
Cheers,
Adam
Once upon a time I was all worried about this but I don’t let it bother me any more. Good looking, great tasting and well preserved food is wonderful thing.
I was going to find and post the same article Mike did. I’m not convinced they’re bad for you either. Besides all bacon is cured. They just do it by another form, celery salt or something which has the exact same results.
I agree completely. It amazes me how some of these products even get passed in the first place. The good thing is though my regular grocery store does sell “nitrite free” products and “grass fed” products. Keep in mind this is a regular grocery store not a whole foods. So we are getting better slowly at making info like this known!
Great post Mark.
Not too long ago I read this
“http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/does-banning-hotdogs-and-bacon-make.html”
She writes some very good articles, but I’ve heard rumors that she receives some funding…..can’t seem to confirm this.
I handle my intake as follows;
as much as I love salami it is basically a processed food. so I try and limit my intake.
Marc
Mike, Joe, Marc (and the rest of you) – thanks for the comments and the junkfoodscience link. Pretty interesting article. I’d be interested to know if she receives funding, Marc, as you suggest. Our Worker Bee post, I think, does a pretty good job of offering up the topic for discussion without being too heavy-handed either way. (Notably, we noted the protective benefit of antioxidants that can effectively mitigate any damage in some cases.) This dialogue is exactly what I love about MDA and my readers.
Taken from bottom of her website pages:
“…Junkfood Science is not affiliated with any organization…”
A couple ways to eat foods normally sold with sodium nitrite:
1. Trader Joes has nitrite free bacon for a reasonable price.
2. On Saint Patrick’s day, make your own corned beef from a brisket. I did it this year http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Homemade-Irish-Corned-Beef-and-Vegetables-241623 letting it “corn” about 5 days and not using the Insta-cure ingredient that gives the corned beef its red color and has the nitrite. Delicious and I could feel good about eating this beef since it came from a steer raised by a friend on his 20 acre pasture. Normally the butcher grinds the brisket into hamburg. I asked then to save it for me this year to use for corned beef.
“Nitrite-free” processed meats contain beet or celery juice, which are nitrate-rich. Nitrates are converted to nitrites in the saliva. Nitrites are vasodilators and hot dogs are veritable health foods, also containing animal protein, animal fat, and powdered garlic and other herbs.
Mark–notwithstanding your usual brilliance–I’m tempted to call this particular post “baloney!”.
This is timely….as we were just talking on our site about “nitrate” free labels for bacon and how they are really full of natural nitrates from celery juice as mentioned above. Was news to me…and not sure I know much about the “natural” nitrates from celery juice. Will have to research it some more, but the label on the TJs bacon is surely misleading, as it is not nitrate free. Worst case….just need to pop some Vit C tablets with my bacon.
Thanks for the junkscience link. Very interesting article. Sandy Szwarc says she gets no funding. I will be watching these comments to see what those investigating the junkscience claims find out.
I know Dr Eades is not the least bit concerned by nitrites, also there was a study that beetroot juice reduces BP by forming nitrates in the mouth with saliva, the body tries to elimate these by opening the blood vessels, hence the increased blood flow & reduced BP, this being the case bacon could actually be healthy. Personally i don’t like the idea too much though, my take is, now & then it’s fine, no need to over worry, but for the most part, fresh meat is better.
This is terrible. We’re killing ourselves! I’ve tweaked my diet to make it healthier but I’ve still got work to do. Thank you Mark!
From what I’ve read here and elsewhere, sodium nitrite is worth avoiding. Bacon is the only processed meat that tempts me. Sometimes I buy the Applegate Farms nitrite-free bacon, but the sugar is a problem for me (fructose intolerance). This product doesn’t have beet juice but it does have evaporated cane juice. It can’t be very much, since 45 of the 60 calories in a serving (2 slices) come from fat and 15 from protein–sugar registers 0 (which means less than .5 gram) on the nutrition label. Still, it’s enough to make my gut react badly if I have more than 2 slices. I find it hard to eat only 2 slices. So sometimes I’ll buy just two slices of “regular” bacon from the deli counter, for my watercress soup. The Applegate Farms stuff is really spendy, too. The hot dogs are good but I stopped buying them because they just don’t keep. Yes, sodium nitrite is useful…but do I really want something in my body with such a shelf life? It’s scary how long some foods go without spoiling. Hot dogs aren’t that tasty anyhow. But bacon IS!
“I’d be interested to know if she receives funding”
I love your blog and don’t want to snipe, but it seems to me that the most important point is whether she is right or wrong, not where she gets her money.
We all get our funding somewhere.
V.
So sausages are a no-no? Damn…
Should’ve seen it coming – something didn’t feel right with sausages…
Actually Yavor, most of the sausages I see in the grocery stores that are raw are free of nitrates. Just look at the ingredients, and if sodium nitrates are not there, you are good to go.
I have to also point out that if you look at the studies pointed out in this article stating that nitrates have been linked to cancer seem pretty inconclusive.
From the gastric cancer one:
“In conclusion, dietary modification by reducing salt and salted food intake, as well as by increasing intake of fruit and vitamin C, represents a practical strategy to prevent gastric cancer.”
No mention of nitrates in that conclusion.
From the colon cancer one:
“Of various sources of N-nitroso compounds, intake of smoked and salted fish was significantly (RR = 2.58, 95% CI 1.21-5.51) and intake of cured meat was non-significantly (RR = 1.84, 95% CI 0.98-3.47) associated with risk of colorectal cancer.”
Cured meat was non-significantly associated with it according to this.
The other studies are similarly inconclusive.
If these are the best studies you can find to show that nitrates cause cancer, I have to either say that you were lazy while writing this, or just plain wrong.
From the pancreatic cancer study linked in this article.
“Increasing intake of dietary nitrite from animal sources was associated with an elevated risk of pancreatic cancer among men and women (highest quartile odds ratios = 2.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 5.1, for men and 3.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.6, 6.4, for women). In contrast, dietary nitrate intake showed an inverse association with risk among women and no association among men.”
So cured meats are linked to pancreatic cancer, but dietary nitrate intake showed no association among men and an inverse association with women? So wouldn’t it be a better conclusion that the people that are eating more cured meats probably aren’t eating clean diets that would be more likely to cause the pancreatic cancer than the nitrates themselves?
And as for the last study for COPD:
“The study shows that the odds of having COPD were 78% higher for people who ate cured meats 14 or more times per week than those who never eat cured meats.”
This seems to show a link between COPD and cured meats. BUT this is the next sentence.
“People who frequently ate cured meats tended not to eat a lot of fish, fruit, or vegetables. They also were more likely to use tobacco than other participants; smoking makes COPD more likely.”
Hmmmm, more likely to smoke and eat diets void of fruits and veggies…which do you really think causes the COPD? Is it the smoking and an all around bad diet, or is it the nitrates?
These studies are inconclusive at best, and showing that the link between nitrates and cancer is complete BS at worst.