Wondering about nitrates and nitrites in my food.

I enjoy eating but I try to watch what I eat. I try to eat stuff that is good for me. I am finding out that is harder than I would have ever guessed. Let’s just take one example, nitrites. Why then, you ask, does my title include nitrates? The answer is that nitrates can turn into nitrites during digestion.


Nitrites are added to processed meats to kill bacteria, especially the kind that causes botulism. Unfortunately, nitrites also combine with amines, the natural breakdown products of proteins, to form cancer-causing nitrosamines. OK, so let us just eat vegetables. No, that will not work either. Nitrites and nitrates are found everywhere in plants, including vegetables and grains.

Here is a paragraph from http://www.ehow.com/list_5939063_list-foods-high-nitrites.html that tells what vegetables contain nitrates and nitrites:


"In terms of vegetables, green leafy ones and root vegetables contain high levels of nitrate that are converted to nitrites on ingestion. Vegetables such as beetroot, radish, lettuce and spinach have high levels of nitrate which can convert into nitrites. Lettuce and spinach have especially high levels of nitrate. You will also find nitrates and consequently nitrites in carrots as well. The levels of nitrates depend upon the age of the vegetable and how much of a nitrate based fertilizer was used on it."


Well, dang, I am hungry. Guess I will go have my nitrites and nitrates and whatever. .