///@carniterri: 🧪 Let’s Talk Nitrates + Nitrites — The Truth the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know 🧠

Roger on July 27, 2025 158 views

View More View Less

#Repost ///@carniterri: 🧪 Let’s Talk Nitrates + Nitrites — The Truth the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know 🧠 There’s a persistent myth that nitrates and nitrites in cured meats are toxic. Let’s break that down with actual biochemistry. ... View More#Repost ///@carniterri: 🧪 Let’s Talk Nitrates + Nitrites — The Truth the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know 🧠 There’s a persistent myth that nitrates and nitrites in cured meats are toxic. Let’s break that down with actual biochemistry. 🔬 First of all, nitrites and nitrates are naturally occurring compounds. Nitrate (NO₃⁻) is found abundantly in vegetables like spinach, celery, and beets. When you eat these, your body converts some nitrate to nitrite (NO₂⁻), a key part of your body's nitric oxide cycle — which helps regulate blood flow, mitochondrial function, and cellular respiration. 🧂 Nitrites are also present in sea salt and form endogenously in your own body. Your saliva alone contains up to 20x more nitrite than cured meats, because your oral microbiome reduces dietary nitrate into nitrite — a crucial part of your body's natural defense against harmful bacteria. 🥩 Meat doesn’t create the problem — marketing does. The “no added nitrites” or “uncured” labels are marketing sleight-of-hand. Those products still contain nitrates, usually from celery powder or juice, which delivers identical compounds — just with a “health halo.” There is no functional difference. 💡 The fear of nitrates came from outdated rodent studies using unrealistically high doses and ignoring critical variables like antioxidant intake (vitamin C actually inhibits nitrosamine formation — which is why it’s often added to cured meats!). 🚫 Bottom line: There’s no valid scientific reason to avoid nitrates or nitrites in meat. Your own body makes them. They’re involved in immune function and vasodilation. They’re not carcinogens — bad science and worse marketing are. 🧬 You’re more likely to get meaningful nitrite exposure from leafy greens and your own biochemistry than from a few strips of bacon. So next time you see "nitrate-free" or "uncured" — know that it's a label made to sell, not to protect you. Real food, real science, no fear. 🥓💥 #nitrates #nitrites #curedmeats

View Less

July 27, 2025