Nitrates - Alistair DG

Nitrates can be found in several different types of foods.  Nitrates can be found in cured meats, such as beacon, and hot dogs, and is used to preserve the colour, and make it microbial safe.  It can also be found in Bologna, cured ham, salami, carrots, beets, green beans, spinach, and collard greens.(Answers.com, 


What are some treatments for the damage caused by nitrates?
Since nitrates cause cancer, you would have to do treatment for cancer, in this case, radiation, transplants, and several other bodily implications.


Nitrates are harmful. Nitrates aren't harmful, its what they are converted to is what is harmful.  For adults, the nitrates are converted to nitrites from the saliva, now this is harmful.  If there is to many nitrates being consumed, than you can sometimes get severe headaches or migraines, that can last days at a time.  For young children, the conversion takes place in their intestines.  During pregnancy, if the mother consumes an above-average amount of nitrates, than the chance that the child will develop cancer is greatly increased.  In my opinion, the nitrate levels in foods should be a lot lower than what the standards are currently, as they are so harmful.  Since they occur naturally in several vegetables, I can't see banding it would be a good idea, but to ban hot dogs, that would be the wise choice, but i would not follow through with it.  But some precautions to follow are to watch out for the meats listed above, as not to go over board with them in your diet.

Nitrates (when converted to nitrites) can cause several types of cancer.  The main cancer that is caused by nitrites is Gastric cancer, aka Stomach cancer, which causes 800,000 deaths worldwide, every year. For Gastric cancer, the symptoms start as loss of appetite, indigestion or heart burn, and irritation.  Then after a while the symptoms turn to weakness, fatigue, and bloating of the stomach, usually after meals.  Then the worst symptoms are abdominal pain in the upper abdomen, nausea with occasional vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, weight loss, bleeding in vomiting, and a stomach tumor.  The second type of cancer from nitrites, is Lung cancer, which causes 1.3 million deaths worldwide, every year.  Overall, the chances that a person would live for 5 years, once he has been diagnosed, is 14 % !!!  The symptoms are shortness of breath, coughing up blood, change in regular cough pattern, wheezing, chest pain, weight loss, hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, and rarely, clubbing of the fingernails.  What the cause for all of the internal symptoms, are from (a) tumor(s).  All in all, both of these deaths is not the way to go.  And the last cancer I know of that can also be caused by nitrates is Pancreatic cancer, which can be caused from a high diet of red meats, a lack of vegetable in the diet, and smoking.  Males have a 30 percent higher chance of getting the cancer than females.  The symptoms are pain in the abdomen, loss of appetite, and loss of weight.

Chemical formula: NO3

Chemical Properties of Nitrates:

Odorless 

Colorless

Tasteless

Physical Properties of Nitrates:

Varies from fine crystal powder, to fine hexagon powder

White if in powder form

Density to Sodium Nitrate: 2.257g/cm3

Density to Potassium Nitrate: 2.109g/cm3

Density to Ammonium Nitrate: 1700 kg/m3

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQmG-b6JJdgvjy-prYVkVHmEVgcREXNIW2OYh8uA7GCUlL18LWowI-Tq7E

A NITRATE MOLECULE (up) Dangerous!!!

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYFKa1B3ixD3bSG_pqpFB6_tq8Sv0malRoPQ2fcXWWfGcRT7Wdzz-G0HXSqA

        /\---  THIS IS A BEGINNING GASTRIC CANCER THAT COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY NITRITES.

THIS IS A PICTURE OF LUNG CANCER THAT 

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKZ_RxSlYIh1YK59j28Z87-N9Fl9n0BJqJOS-3GsSuGUKNLMzAgfyZfX3g

COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY NITRITES. -->

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJxl2SJ3Bp_5RBaEzw6-aJ7Jmzac5gKmp3TAlFhf6KuHxbOGGbwzXu2qOz

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A Pancreatic cancer symptom of Abdominal Pain.

Sources: Gastric cancer image : Imaging of various gastric lesions with 2d MPR and ct Gastrography performed with multidetector ct. (2006). North America: RadioGraphics.

Information on nitrates :  RosieC, Initials. (2009). What foods/drinks contain nitrates?!!?. United States: Yahoo.

Lung cancer image : Lung cancer tumors. United States: Ecognitive.com.

More information on nitrates : Nitrates. (2011). United States: Wikipedia.


Pancreatic Cancer image: Pancreatic cancers indicators in addition to examination. United States: My healthy lifestyle.

Stick image of a Nitrate molecule: David Burger, Initials. (2008). Nitrates. United States: Science on the farm.