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This is probably one of the most important blogs you'll come across, purely because you'll only get the truth here. If you've ever wanted to know the truth about what is in our foods and products, the truth about our health, the best way to live each and every day to the fullest, and how to live in peace and harmony with our Earth WITHOUT compromising on the things you love... you've come to the right place! While I'm learning the art of website building, I'll be writing post after post on here without catagorising it, so it may be a bit of a mess but bare with me - the wait for the main site will be worth it! There will be a heck of a lot of info going up here in the coming months, with hopefully an online shop to follow next year. Stay tuned my Apples, a change is coming xxx

Saturday 28 January 2012

Sodium Nitrite (250)



This is going to be a hard one for me to write… as you know, if I post it here, it means I’ve applied it in my life. There is no use in preaching it and not living it.

This toxic, awful poison is found in nearly all deli meats – ham, bacon, sausages, pepperoni, beef jerky, hot dogs, sandwich meats, deli slices, salami, polony (devon), not to mention meat used in canned soups, on frozen pizza, kids' lunch products, in ravioli, spaghetti or other pre-prepared pasta products… – chances are it’ll have a little (250) somewhere on the label.

But let’s take a few steps back and figure out just what Sodium Nitrite is, then we’ll discover how it differs from naturally occurring nitrates found in many vegetables, and what it does to our precious bodies.



Sodium Nitrite has the chemical formula NaSO2 , which probably doesn’t mean that much to most people, but it’s good to know. It has a variety of uses, from the formation of dyes, pharmaceutical products, pesticides, photography, and rubbers, but it is most commonly known for uses in food preserving – not only general preserving but also as a colour fixer, and to prevent the growth of a bacteria which causes botulism (A rare but serious paralytic condition, non-life threatening, and preventable when the meat is heated at 120C for at least 3 minutes. Spores accumulate in the small intestine, and only in cases where the immune system is inefficient to deal with it, bacteria is released into the body).

With me so far? It’s a preservative, a colour-fixer and a bacterial inhibitor.

When meat is preserved in Sodium Nitrite and then heated to high temperatures (which all of them are) – I’m talking cooked, charred and/or overcooked here, the nitrites convert into Nitrosamines. This also happens when nitrites react with secondary amines under acidic conditions (in your stomach acid) and during the meat curing process.

Get it? Cooking, preserving and/or eating meats with Sodium Nitrite produces Nitrosamines.

Now… nitrosamines… tsk tsk tsk… we don’t like these at all. They are PROVEN CARCINOGENS. That means, they are known to cause cancers.

In 1956 (that’s 56 years ago), John Barnes and Peter Magee (British Scientists) found that di-methyl-nitrosamine (sound it out…) produced liver tumours in rats. 90% of nitrosamine compounds were then deemed carcinogenic. Nitrosamines are also found in tobacco smoke, and are used in the manufacturing of some cosmetics (eeewww!!), pesticides and most rubber products.

Let’s get one thing perfectly straight here. I’m bound to get some negative nancy read this and preach to me about the levels of nitrates in many vegetables. Firstly, NITRITES and NITRATES are different. Secondly, this wonderful organic world of ours has created vegetables in such a way that they take care of themselves. So, when we eat a vegetable that is relatively high in NITRATES, a small amount of that is converted to NITRITES in the stomach (with your stomach acid, remember?). Then in come all of those WONDERFUL naturally occurring antioxidants from the piece of veg that you just ate, inhibiting the formation of nitrosamine (which is the real risk).

Still there?? Nitrosamines are known carcinogens, and nitrate levels in vegetables are controlled by the antioxidants present within that veggie.

Let’s talk about what has been proven. There is a proven link to the triggering of migraines – especially to those who already suffer from them, when Nitrites are consumed. There is a positive association with gastric cancer, but apparently insufficient information to associate it with oesophageal cancer (Info from Wiki). There are links to colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (www.marksdailyapple.com). We also go to social issues, headaches, irritable bowel symptoms, itchy rashes, asthma, children’s behaviour problems, difficulty falling asleep and frequent night waking. There are also reader reports on the Fed Up website associated with behavioural issues, growing pains, stuttering, headaches and asthma. Worth a look for sure. A study published by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital in the US reported a link between increased levels of nitrates and increased deaths from certain diseases including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's, possibly through the damaging effect of nitrosamines on DNA. (www.fedup.com.au)

Nitrates and Nitrites can also leech into our water, due to over fertilisation. Which is why a water filter in your home is ESSENTIAL!!! (You just wait until I write about water!!)

Nitrosamines have also been detected in some beers (my favourite beverage!)!! Nooooo!! It is formed by direct-fire drying of barley malt. It is more common now to indirectly fire dry the barley malt, and the level of nitrosamines are greatly reduced. But it’s still there, and judging by how much beer I drink – the levels would creep up pretty quickly!



So… between your bacon and eggs for breakfast, your ham and salad roll for lunch, a few beers in the afternoon while the kids have a frozen pizza for a snack, and prepacked ravioli for dinner… how do we change our habits??

1.       Get a water filter. You must get one that filters out Fluoride and Chlorine, as well as trace chemicals. We love PSI Filters (get a reverse osmisis alkalising system - the people there are really helpful!), or at Nourished Life online, a 1.5L Filter jug also alkalises and de-fluoridates the water.
2.       Source nitrite free meats. You have to do this. Look on the back of the pack. If it has (250), put it back. Check out PasturePerfect Meats – they’re organic and Nitrite free. It might be expensive, but what price do you put on your health??

3.       Don’t think that because you’re eating veggies with your nitrite-rich meat that you can get away with it. There are only enough antioxidants in the vegetable to deal with processing the nitrites created from that veggie. Any left over ones will not be sufficient to deal with the nitrosamine influx in your system.

As the page gets bigger, I’ll have a favourites page – keep an eye out for it. There’ll be all my favourite suppliers for all of our natural and organic needs!

1 comment:

  1. Hello. This is very interesting reading. In the last twelve months I have had major surgery for colo-rectal cancer followed by 8 months of chemo. During treatment I did some research on sodium nitrite following a segment I'd seen on Dr Oz. Prior to my diagnosis I had been a big fan of foods such as corner beef, bacon and especially salami. I can't say this caused my cancer but I am sworn off sodium nitrite and scour products that disguise it as Enzyme Preservative 250.I can't understand why it is not banned until proven safe!
    Linda Goodwin. Victoria

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