The harm of nitrite

Many people have heard of nitrite at the 3.15 Gala, but they have only heard of it and have not really paid attention to it. Some people even blindly followed some posts online about the dangers of nitrite, causing panic. But they have not really checked the relevant knowledge. This approach is irresponsible and unwise.

So what exactly is nitrite? What foods contain these things? What are the dangers of ingesting nitrite into the body? Will it definitely cause cancer? Many people have misunderstandings about nitrite, and a detailed introduction is given below.

Foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, salted fish, ham, and sausage all contain nitrates and nitrites. Nitrates can be reduced to nitrites. After nitrite is ingested into the stomach, it reacts with secondary amines, a product of protein decomposition, under the action of gastric acid to form nitrosamines. There is also a type of bacteria in the stomach called nitrate-reducing bacteria, which can also combine nitrite with amines to form nitrosamines.

These bacteria thrive when stomach acid is lacking. Therefore, no matter how much stomach acid there is, it is conducive to the production of nitrosamines. Nitrosamines have strong carcinogenic effects, mainly causing esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer and colorectal cancer. Even if we eat nitrosamines, we may not necessarily develop cancer. The occurrence of cancer is closely related to the type and amount of nitrosamines. Moreover, nitrosamines are only external causes, and external factors must work through internal factors.

As long as we pay attention to dietary nutrition, eat more foods rich in vitamin C and strengthen our physical fitness, the body's anti-cancer ability will be enhanced, and nitrosamines will not be able to cause trouble.

From the above introduction, we can understand that nitrite is commonly found in foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, salted fish, and ham. It has carcinogenic effects to a certain extent, but eating it does not necessarily cause cancer. Just don't consume it in excess. As long as you pay attention to nutritional balance and eat more products rich in vitamin C, your physical fitness will be improved and you will not get sick easily.