Sodium Nitrate
Sodium Nitrate is a type of salt that is used to preserve foods, especially meat and fish. It is sometimes used as a replacement for sodium nitrite, and helps preserve the color of cured meat, imparts flavor, and regulates lipid oxidation. Some researchers suggest that sodium nitrite helps preserve tissues when oxygen levels are low in the body. However, multiple studies have linked nitrate overconsumption to cancer, higher risks of neurological illnesses, and heart diseases.
Benefits of Sodium Nitrate:
- Positive effect on the cardiovascular system: the impact of nitrate and nitrite intake on endothelial function and blood pressure is widely studied. Tests carried out on animals provide evidence that dietary nitrates and nitrites decrease blood pressure through their antioxidant properties.
- Lowering serum triglyceride levels and improving the metabolic syndrome.
- Antimicrobial effects on the surface of the skin.
Intake of nitrates under 600 mg per day is associated with a relative risk under 1. Studies in the 1990s indicated some adverse effects of sodium nitrite, such as the potential to cause childhood leukemia and brain cancers. However, NTP chronic bioassay studies in rats and male mice did not show carcinogenicity where nitrate was administered alone in drinking water or diet. Nitrosating agents can react under certain conditions and the carcinogenicity of nitrate can be enhanced following ingestion of additional nitrate, nitrite, or nitrosatable compounds.
Sources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8186051/
- https://www.medicinenet.com/how_bad_is_sodium_nitrate_for_you/article.htm
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35303088/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/sodium-nitrate
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6147587/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9365633/
