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Let's sift the wheat from the chaff, based on available clinical evidence.
Myth: Nitrates/nitrites are bad for your health.
Fact: Nitrates are found in abundance in many vegetables (spinach, lettuce, radish) and fruits. In small to moderate amounts, they help reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. In large amounts on the other hand, e.g. eating lots of processed meat everyday, nitrates may cause atherosclerosis, leading to heart disease, as well as predispose you to diabetes. The sodium in sodium nitrate (a common preservative) may also increase blood pressure.
Myth: Nitrates/Nitrites cause cancer.
Fact: Nitrates/Nitrites in themselves don't cause cancer. However, they are converted to nitrosamines in high-heat cooking. Nitrosamines are Group 1 carcinogens, in the same category as tobacco and X-ray radiation.
Moral of story: everything in moderation. Food is meant to be enjoyed; it's not a mode of torture, nor should it be a cause for obsessive indulgence.
You do not know what kind of nitrates do those meat industries uses.. They use sodium nitrates and it has been found to be carcinogenic to your body cells. The natural nitrates found in plants are NATURAL. Those churn from factories are not natural. So you decide.
Anyway, my rule of thumb is to wish all meat eating losers to die early and left only vegans to be on earth. Only in this scenario, the planet earth will reset itself and become a better place for all.
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