Sodium Nitrite Is Responsible For Some Cancers

Video: Sodium Nitrite Is Responsible For Some Cancers

Video: Sodium Nitrite Is Responsible For Some Cancers
Video: Can Processed Meat Cause Cancer? | Should I Eat Meat? | BBC 2024, November
Sodium Nitrite Is Responsible For Some Cancers
Sodium Nitrite Is Responsible For Some Cancers
Anonim

Sodium nitrate can also be found as E 250, Sodium nitrite, and sodium salt. Its chemical formula is NaNO2. When pure, it is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder.

Sodium nitrate is most easily found in a nearby grocery store. In the food industry it is used as a preservative. It is added to ham, long-life sausages, smoked fish, canned meat, even in the so-called. "Fresh meat" to preserve its color and taste.

In general, sodium nitrate is used to avoid rapid spoilage of meat and fish. In addition, it prevents the growth of Clostridium botulinum - the bacterium that causes botulism.

Its role is to prevent the action of the toxin that is released by the bacterium. The consequences of poisoning with this toxin can range from the most innocuous nausea, dry mouth and constipation and reach diarrhea, airway involvement, paralysis, and in rare cases - to death.

On the other hand, sodium nitrite is used to keep the pleasant and fresh color of meat, sausages and fish longer. It has the ability to stabilize the red color of the meat.

Sodium Nitrite
Sodium Nitrite

However, when this happens, the consumer cannot determine the age of the meat he is buying, because with this supplement it always looks fresh and fresh. But the fact that we buy something fresh, and it turns out not so fresh, is the lesser trouble.

Worse, which follows from the use of sodium nitrate, is the carcinogenic effect. In the European Union, there is even a clearly defined limit on the permissible percentage of its use.

Carcinogenic nitrosamines are formed in meat containing sodium nitrite at high temperatures. And to cook it, you certainly need a high temperature. On the other hand, even if you just eat meat with added sodium nitrite and it is processed by your gastric juices, you immediately get nitrosamines.

Nitrosamines are highly carcinogenic chemicals. They are formed by the reaction of nitrites with secondary amines.

Independent experts define sodium nitrite as responsible for some cancers. Consumption of processed meats has been shown to greatly increase the risk of cancer. The interesting thing in this case is that the fault is not in the meat itself, but in the way it is processed.

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