Functional Nitric Oxide Nutrition: Dietary Strategies to Prevent and Treat Chronic Disease by Nathan S. Bryan

Author:Nathan S. Bryan [Bryan, Nathan S.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Crescendo Publishing LLC
Published: 2018-05-07T00:00:00+00:00

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But I Thought Nitrite and Nitrate Were Toxic

Sometimes when we hear information repeated often enough, we start to believe it—whether we intend to or not. Remember being cautioned not to sit too close to the television or it would ruin your sight? How about the warning not to swallow gum because it would stay in your body for three years? While intuitively we know that we need to let these notions go, there’s something about these repeated warnings that causes doubt to linger.

As a physiologist, I interact with a lot of people about how we can maintain healthy bodies. Increasingly, I hear misguided claims about food—like the idea that nitrite needs to be avoided or that the best way to avoid it is to stop eating cured meats like hot dogs and bacon. In some respects, it’s understandable. People have heard cautions about nitrite for decades, especially claims that nitrite could cause cancer. But what people don’t understand is its critical role not only in preventing foodborne illnesses, but most recently its recognized health benefits due to its ability to form nitric oxide or NO. Up until the 1970s, it was thought that nitrite and nitrate were synthetic unnatural molecules, but we soon realized that nitrite is actually produced in the bodies of mammals through normal metabolic processes. This realization is what ultimately led to the discovery of nitric oxide. Three American scientists were awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize for the discovery of nitric oxide. Now we know and appreciate the essential nature of both nitric oxide and nitrite in human health and disease.

The claim that nitrite and nitrate are toxic and should be avoided is particularly frustrating to me, because I know through my work and the work of others that much of what is reported in the previous chapters is true—that not only are nitrite and nitrate safe, but absolutely essential for life. Published studies reveal that these can protect from injury from heart attack and stroke, prevent inflammation from a poor diet, and even lower blood pressure, the primary risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. In fact, there are currently twenty-six clinical trials completed or ongoing using nitrite as a therapy for conditions like heart failure, organ transplantation, cystic fibrosis, and even leg ulcers just to name a few. Obviously, the scientific and medical community understand the importance of nitrite for human health—but the media sometimes mislead us or sensationalize certain stories.

Still, claims that “no nitrite is added” appear increasingly on foods these days, as if to suggest there is something to fear. There’s just one catch: cured meats must contain a form of nitrite to be cured, or ham and salami would just be, well . . . pork. Most often, nitrite takes the form of celery powder or celery juice. Sometimes its sea salt or even beet juice, which are all rich sources of nitrate and nitrite. That’s right—nitrite is found naturally in sea salt and most vegetables.

Now, here’s the real shocker for most people: Less than five percent of the nitrite we consume comes from cured meats.

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